


Loose Talk in the Classroom

by Undertheblu



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angsty as always, Daddy Issues, Explicit Language, M/M, Professor Bruce Banner, Sexual Content, Student/teacher relationship, Teacher/Student, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Underage Tony Stark, Violence, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-02
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-01-03 06:46:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1067331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Undertheblu/pseuds/Undertheblu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sulky Teenager Really Isn't a Flattering Color

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, Kiddos.  
> Addressing the tags: So I say underage, but technically Tony is eighteen. The Rape tag has nothing to do with Bruce and wont happen for quite a while in the story. 
> 
> I blame Mary for this making it to AO3

   “Sulky teenager really isn't a flattering color on you, Anthony,” Howard Stark had made the comment without even looking over at Tony, “One would assume you'd be use to these moves by now. Or even believe that you cause trouble on purpose for that very reason.”

“You caught me.” Tony mumbled, his cheek resting in the palm of his hand while he stared out the car window. He watched as civilization flew by, dissolving in a blur to be replaced by trees and Mom and Pop's and picket fences. A different world entirely, just as Howard had wanted. This was a punishment, Tony was being banished to a school in the middle of nowhere because he no longer deserved civilization.

“Are we going to go off onto a dirt road soon?” Tony asked, earning a small glance from Jarvis in the rearview mirror, “Am I going to be abandoned in the woods?”

“Would you prefer that?” Howard asked, finally taking the time to look Tony in the eye, “Or public school perhaps?”

Tony let out a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest,“Yeah, okay. That wouldn't be too embarrassing for you, _Mr. Stark_?”

Jarvis sucked in his breath in the front seat while Howard Stark set down his paper and uncrossed his legs, “I'm already too embarrassed.”

   Tony closed his mouth and turned his face away. He heard the rustle of the newspaper, already drawing his father's attention away from him. He'd made it abundantly clear that he wasn't happy he had to accompany Tony to the school, he had somewhere else to be, with more important people. Tony knew his father would rather drive in silence so he purposely kept talking.

“Am I allowed to come home for holidays?”

“You are not being banished, Anthony, jus-”

“Just relocated? Jay, we there yet?” Tony asked, slumping further down on the leather.

“Very nearly, sir.”

Tony started playing with the hem of his shirt, thinking about how he'd miss Jarvis, how he always missed Jarvis. The man was never very emotional, but he spoke with more feeling than his father ever did.

“I don't want any trouble at this school, look at me when I'm speaking, Anthony,” Tony wrinkled is nose at the use of his full name, “No good college is going to want you if you can't even graduate because of a disciplinary problem.”

“Yup. Howard Stark's son is-”

“You are Howard Stark's son, but my name is not going to be what get's you through life. I'll make sure of that if you pull anymore stunts.”

The long stretch car pulled onto the school grounds, passing the expected tennis court and gardens. At least the students weren't wearing uniforms, Tony never liked the look of himself in a striped school tie. When the car came to a complete stop and Jarvis stepped out, Howard looked over at Tony with an expectant stare.

“So is this where we part ways, sir?” Tony asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I'll be in to sign some papers after this phone call.” Howard answered, watching Tony slink from the leather seat, “Make the most of your time here, Anthony.”

Jarvis was waiting for him with bags in hand once he stepped from the vehicle. He gave Tony a sympathetic look as they turned to enter the first large building, “I'm sure Mr. Stark-”

“It's fine, Jay. Man's got companies to run.”

“He has high hopes for you at this school, Sir. As do I.”

Tony smirked, glancing at the older man, “You don't think I should try to go for a school in every state? I'm getting quite the collection.”

“An impressive number, indeed.” Jarvis nodded.

 

 

   As expected, the president of the school gushed over Howard Stark, practically purring with the idea of the Stark child at his school. He tried to indirectly asked why Tony needed a new school but Howard remained aloof and wasn't challenged.

“Well, either way, we're happy to have you here at Sacred Heart.”

   Tony nodded, sure they were hoping his father would donate a building for housing his son. Howard flashed his salesman smile and signed the appropriate papers, excusing himself with another meeting, the business transaction was over. There was no hug goodbye from his father, not even a handshake, but Tony was old enough to know better. Jarvis wasn't about to hug Tony either, but he did flash a small smile at their departure.

   This time around, Tony ended up with two roommates, Howard Hogan and James Rhodes, both using their full name to adress themselves. These two obviously weren't going to be very much fun. As usual, Jarvis had spent the time unpacking and making the room homey.

“You came with a lot of stuff.” James Howard laughed, “Kind of like a girl.”

“What can I say, I'm a spoiled brat.” Tony shrugged.

“So, uh, why did you transfer here so late?” James asked, watching Tony poke around the room, examining his surrounding.

“Disciplinary problems.” Tony answered vaguely.

The two roommates exchanged a look, “Do you get into fights or something?”

Tony laughed and flopped onto the bed that was to be his, “Oh Jesus, no springs in this thing! No, I didn't get into fights.”

Howie, as Tony was now referring to him in his head, frowned, “So what-”

“Couple of Curious Katies, aren't you?” Tony chuckled, leaning back against the wall, “I got kicked out for sleeping with a teacher.”

Way to jump to the good stuff, he thought to himself as the shock flashed across their faces. Might as well let them know what kind of person he was right away.

“A teacher?!”

Tony shrugged again. His father had done a good job of keeping it quiet, not like the school wanted it publicized either. It had been a one time thing but one time too many obviously.

“Are you serious?” James asked, frowning as he leaned forward. Tony loved the look of disapproval on his face, but he figured maybe it was a bit much for them.

“Nope,” He answered, shaking his head and lying back on the bed, “just a compulsive liar.”

A statement that wasn't entirely false had Howie scoffing, “Well, great. Listen, man, that isn't the sort of thing you should just go around saying here.”

“I bet, so what do you guys do for fun around here?” Tony asked, hopping from the bed to go look out the window.

The other two exchanged another look behind his back at the sudden change in subject, “Well, you probably noticed there aren't any girls.”

“That I did, Big Chief.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“So fun's kind of limited,” James chuckled.

Oh, how unimaginative we are. Tony thought to himself, smiling down at a tall blonde in the courtyard.

 

  

    Bruce tried to sort a few more papers before his students filed in, he wasn't looking forward to this class. Too many of the students just didn't care, especially the Stark brat. Brat was a perfect word for Tony Stark, he knew he could get away with anything without fear of consequences. Well not in Bruce's class, today he was going to throw a failing grade in that kid's face. Tony had only been at the school for three days but he was already acting like he owned the place. He sauntered into Bruce's class with a grin, looking him up and down like he was window shopping.

“It sounds kind of..” Rhodey began, sitting down, frowning over at Tony.

“Disrespectful? Blasphemous?” Tony offered, slouching down in one of the front desks, flashing a grin over at Bruce, “Yeah, probably. But that's no reason not to experiment. Our society wouldn't be what it is without any experimentation. And I think the church could use an upgrade.”

“Alright, class,” Bruce sighed, grabbing the stack of papers he planned on handing out, “these papers were less than perfect, at least some of you bothered to pass something in.”

“Loving the enthusiasm, Teach.” Tony grinned as Bruce passed by.

Bruce glared over his shoulder, “I'm glad you think so, Mr. Stark, because here is your paper with an enthusiastic F.”

Tony scowled up at Bruce as he handed him the paper, “And what was wrong with it exactly?”

“You didn't write this. The content in this paper was way beyond you.”

A terrifying smirk crept onto Tony's face as he reclined in his chair, “Oh, _I_ wrote it. That intimidate you or something, Mr. Banner?”

Bruce's eyes narrowed as he leaned against the desk, “You did _not_ write that. There is no way you know anything about-”

“Quantum mechanics holds that any given particle has a chance of being in a whole range of locations and, in a sense, occupies all those places at once. Physicists describe quantum reality in an equation they call the wave function, which reflects all the potential ways a system can evolve. Until a-”

“That's enough.” Bruce snapped, turning on his heel to return to the front of the classroom, slamming the rest of the papers down on his own desk.

Tony grinned at the back of Bruce's head as he wrote on the board, he'd gotten exactly what he'd wanted out of that. He wanted to show off for him, even if it pissed him off. That was usually the best way to get attention, he’d found. And he wanted this teacher’s attention.


	2. Causing Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I jump around a lot in this fic, it’s just the way I wrote it.

 “I just don't get why me,” Bruce sighed, yanking his tie from his shirt collar and tossing it on the dresser, “I know for a fact there are other teachers who would love to advise this kid.”

Melanie flashed a glance at him in the mirror while she washed her face, “You said he's good with science, that's probably why.”

“I still don't know if it's real, just because he can spout off some phrases doesn't mean he understands...but he is a Stark, they seem to know their shit. He's just so infuriating, Mel. And he knows he got to me, he was loving it.”

Melanie walked from the bathroom to slide onto the bed, she crossed her legs under her and watched Bruce undress, “You know how teenagers are.”

“They're awful,” Bruce mumbled, slipping into a pair of dark sweatpants, opting out of a shirt because of the heat. He crawled onto the bed, leaning forward to kiss his fiancee. “Last year,” He hummed with a smile, planting small kisses over Melanie's face, lifting his hand to her jaw, “last year with high school brats. I can't wait to teach people that _want_ to be taught.”

“It'll all be worth it then, won't it, _Dr._ Banner?” Melanie smiled up at him.

“Mmm, you know I like hearing that,” He purred, wrapping an arm under her to pull her on top of him.

 

 

“I'm just saying, Tony, you're gonna make enemies that way.”

“And I will keep that in mind, Rhodey.” Tony nodded. He'd only been at the school for three weeks and already his roommates were trying to fix him. They both seemed to think he needed parenting and watching, it was as if they were taking shifts.

“I think you should take it easy with the partying too.”

“You wanna come and tell Bruce you're gonna be my advisor instead?” Tony pointed at the door behind him.

“Bet he wouldn't mind at all.”

Tony made a face as he opened the door, “ _You_ wouldn't mind. Later, Texas Rhode House.”

Bruce was grading papers at his desk when Tony entered, he honestly hadn't expected the kid to show up, Tony Stark wasn't the type to take advice.

“Greetings, Bruce.”

“Hello, Tony. Please sit down.”

Tony smiled when Bruce didn't correct him on his name, every single class Tony had annoyed Bruce by being so informal.

“So, Tony, your teachers say you haven't been applying yourself. What's that about?” Bruce asked while Tony meandered around the desks in the room.

“Haven't had any tests yet,” Tony answered, looking over at the teacher, “my test grades make all the difference.”

Bruce sighed and pointed to the seat he'd originally offered the boy, “Tony, you need to do the assignments.”

“Mmm, I don't think so,” Tony shook his head, “they're filler and we both know it. None of you high school professors even get to teach the way you want, why take it so seriously?”

“ _You_ should take it seriously because it affects your future.”

Tony plopped down in the seat finally, tucking his legs under him, “I do not think that vocab words are going to-”

“Tell me which teacher is making you do vocab words and I'll talk to them, find you something harder to do.”

“Thanks, Pal, but I really don't need busy work.” Tony shook his head, leaning forward to grab the paper weight from Bruce's desk. Bruce reached over and took the paper weight from Tony's hand and returned it to it's spot. Tony bit his lip slightly, trying not to smile when their hands touched.

“Help me understand, you do the assignments in my class, why not the others?”

Tony shrugged, picking up the stress ball from Bruce's desk, “You're the only one I want to impress.”

Bruce nodded, not believing a word, “Flattering but unhelpful, Tony. You're a smart kid, we both know that-”

“ **I** know that better than anyone,” Tony interrupted, tossing the stress ball up in the air, “I'm telling you, Bruce, talk to me after my first test. I pay attention, I learn the material, why should I have to do busy work too?”

Honestly, Bruce agreed, giving a personality like Tony busy work was a terrible idea. Tony needed stimulation or you'd lose him. Tony tossed the stress ball to Bruce and picked up the frame from the desk, looking at the smiling woman in the picture. Bruce sighed, wondering for a brief moment if Tony had an attention disorder before he grabbed for the picture frame.

“Leave my desk alone.”

 

 

 

“Hey, what's your problem?” Steve Rogers snapped, grabbing Tony's arm as he tried to pass.

Tony looked down at Steve's large hand, gripping his forearm tighter than necessary, probably harder than Steve realized, “ _Me_? I'm not the one physically assaulting people.” He answered snidely.

“Stay away from Bucky.”

“Ohh,” Tony nodded, removing Steve's fingers like it was an unpleasant task, “Big Blonde's got a boyfriend. And he's possessive.” Tony's voice took on a sing-song tone that seemed to anger the larger boy all the more.

“I'm _protective_ , not possessive.” Steve growled.

“Yeah, okay. He's not allowed to talk to other people, but you're definitely not possessive or anything.”

“I don't want someone like you flirting with him. Not everybody wants you coming onto them.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall nonchalantly, as if to say he was bored, “You feel threatened, Rogers? Do I intimidate you? You think Bucky's going to come scampering to me if-”

Tony's words were cut off by Steve's fist colliding with his mouth, he stumbled back for only a moment—flying forward when Steve grabbed him by the cuff of his shirt. He tasted blood in his mouth as the same fist came smashing into his jaw.

“That the only move you know?” Tony retorted, wincing at the pain of using his facial muscles. He ducked out of the way for another hit to the face, but Steve's other hand—still holding onto his shirt—shoved him hard against the wall, dazing him into seeing spots.

“Yes, you're very proud of your strength, I get it, Caveman.” Tony sighed, acting bored again before sliding out of the way for another hit, “I thought you were big on ethics, don't you not believe in violence or something?”

“I don't like hitting decent _people_.” Steve snapped, swinging his arm up again.

“Hey!” Bruce called, trotting down the crowded hall, “What's going on here?!” He shoved himself between the two, placing two hands on Steve's shoulders, “That's enough!” He said, frowning as he turned his head to see Tony's banged up face.

“ _You_ get to the headmaster's office.”

“But he-”

“Go! What'd you _think_ was going to happen?!” Bruce yelled, pointing down the hall. Steve scowled at Tony as he turned to stomp away. Bruce sighed angrily as he rounded on Tony, “Why do you let yourself get put in these situations?! Do you _like_ getting hurt or something?”

Bruce's anger took Tony by surprise, he didn't object when the teacher grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hallway to the nurse's office, “One of these days, Kid, you are going to get stuck in a position you can't get out of and no one's going to be there to save you. Why can't you just...you need to learn to take care of yourself.”

Tony glowered at the older man as he shoved him into the room, Bruce looking around angrily for the nurse, “I didn't ask you to come save me.”

Bruce ignored him, annoyed that the nurse was no where to be found. He muttered about fixing him up himself and something nasty about the school, “Sit down.”

“I'm fine,” Tony answered as Bruce pushed him into the seat, “don't you need to go teach or something?”

“Just be quiet, Tony.” Bruce sighed as he started cleaning Tony's lip. Tony averted his eyes, feeling Bruce's stare on him made him oddly flustered. Bruce's hand held up Tony's chin, fingers curled under his jawline while he cleaned the blood from Tony's lip. Bruce glanced at Tony's eyes for a moment, “Are you alright?”

Tony nodded, suddenly unable to think of something smart to say. Bruce frowned, turning his head so he could look into Tony's face to check is pupils.

“I'm fine,” Tony repeated, scrunching up his face and earning a small smile from the older man.

“Did you get into fights in your last school?”

Tony shrugged, “I rub people the wrong way sometimes.”

Bruce was quite impressed that Tony was aware of that fact, let alone would admit it, “Well, it's hard when you're different. But, you know you don't always make it easy for people. I know you're just trying to get knowledge across, but to your peers it can sound like showing off.”

“Well that's 'cause I _am_ showing off, Silly.” Tony replied, sticking out his tongue as he wriggled in the chair. He wished he had more injuries so he could sit there longer with the teacher touching his face.

“Mhm,” Bruce nodded, pushing up from his seat, “well, I don't think you'll have any black eyes. Please try to keep out of trouble, you don't want to mess up that face of yours.”

Tony grinned, his stomach fluttering as he hopped from the seat, “No promises.”


	3. Stealing Parts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s weird posting chapters AFTER they’ve already been written, I’ve never done it that way so it makes me nervous.

   “What's going on here, Tony?” Bruce sighed, pointing down at the paper, “All the work is right, just the answers are wrong.”

Tony shrugged, slumping in the chair and making the professor scowl, “What's going on? We both know how smart you are. Are you throwing this on purpose?”

“Maybe.”

Bruce rolled his eyes with another sigh, “And why? _Why_ would you do that?”

Tony shrugged again in a very noncommittal way, “Spend more time with you?”--Earning another roll of the eyes from the teacher--“Hey, you may be my only friend. Having you reject me might be damaging on my teenage ego.”

“I think your ego is fully intact.”

“You don't know,” Tony scrunched up his face, taking the round stress ball from Bruce's desk, “I could be very fragile emotionally. Wouldn't be the first spoiled brat with low self-esteem.”

Bruce knew that Tony was trying to make it sound like a joke, but he wondered if there was an ounce of truth to it, Tony managed to be completely hidden and completely transparent all at once. 

“Is there anything you want to talk about, Tony? I don't _just_ have to be your academic advisor, we can discuss anything you want. Or not at all..” 

“Thanks, Banner,” Tony replied, pushing the chair back to stand, “but I've already got a shrink.”

 

 

“You doing alright there, Kid?” 

“Yeah, sure.” Tony nodded, crawling under his latest creation while Obadiah spoke from the speaker phone. His roommates hated how he had turned their room into a workspace but that really hadn't affected him in anyway. 

“Keeping out of trouble?”

“Of course,” Tony winced as he zapped himself with a wire. Obadiah made a doubtful sound on the other line. 

“Engage a little please. Has your father called you at all?”

“Silly question, Obe. I **said** I was staying out of trouble, why else would he call?”

“Mm. I'll talk to him. No need to _condition_ you to be difficult.”

Tony laughed as he wiggled out from under the project,“You been screening my calls with the therapist?

“Well isn't that what what's going on?”

Tony ducked under Happy's desk to steal wires from his outdated computer, “Yup, piss Daddy off so he'll notice. Come on, you think I'd be _that_ calculating?” 

He crawled on his knees back to his project with stolen wires and parts in hand, wondering for a brief moment if Happy would even notice. 

“Just get yourself through this last year, they'll take you more seriously at college and it won't be so difficult for you.” 

“I appreciate the pep talk.” Tony answered sarcastically. He did appreciate the calls from Obadiah, even if it was to check up on his behavior. He ended the conversation before it got too detailed. He appreciated the calls but didn't really want to hear about what he _should_ be doing. He padded barefoot down the deserted hallway, everybody was either at a party or asleep, didn't make sense to be awake _and_ sober at this time. He went down to the lobby and walked over to the soda machine, pushing it away from the wall. While he started to pull it apart from the back he didn't notice the condemning stare of the blonde haired boy sitting in one of the large armed chairs. After several minutes of hacking away at metal, he finally saw the eyes upon him. He paused for a moment, like an animal that had suddenly realized it was caught in a trap. 

“What are you doing?” Steve asked.

“What are _you_ doing,” Tony retorted, scrunching up his face before he went back to pulling out wires.

“ _This_ is what you do on Friday nights? Thursdays you go get yourself smashed along with the rest of the hall and Fridays you sneak around pulling apart appliances?” Steve asked, a strange look on his face as he watched Tony.

“Hangover remedy.” Tony mumbled. 

Steve shook his head, closing his book and standing from the chair,“You're so weird.”

“And you're so boring.” He answered, not looking up as Steve walked over to observe the surgery, “What are you doing up anyway?”

Steve crossed his arms over his large chest, leaning against the wall. Tony's fingers moved so fast that Steve wasn't sure what he was doing with them, “Couldn't sleep. What are you building?”

“A new computer for Hap. The one he has now is a disgrace.” 

“Does he know you're doing that?”

“Does Buck know you don't sleep at night? That doesn't have anything to do with _him_ does it?”

Steve made a similar face to the one he had right before he'd hit Tony. This time he didn't, he glared and turned away, grabbing his book before he headed for the hall. Tony watched him walk away, the way the muscles in his back rolled under his shirt while he moved, his shoulder blades shifting like some great cat. His body looked so powerful and so much older than his age.

 


	4. Bright Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

“Tony, we could get in a lot of trouble for sneaking out.” Rhodey repeated, frowning at Tony's eye roll, “People have been expelled for that sort of thing.”

Tony's head snapped up, “Come or don't come, but stop mothering, Rhodey. We aren't going to get caught.”

“How'd you get a key anyway?” Happy asked, Steve crossing his arms over his large chest, having the same doubts as Rhodey.

“Tom, the headmaster's son.” 

“I wonder.” Steve mumbled, “If you get us caught, Stark-”  
“We _aren't_ going to get caught,” Tony sighed, pushing the door open and taking Bucky’s hand in his, “If you're too scared then go back to bed. **I** am going to go have fun.” 

They all exchanged a look before they followed after Tony.

 

The night was dark but the carnival lit up the sky with the bright lights of the rides. Bucky and Tony lit up a joint to make the rides more entertaining under the disapproving glare of the others. 

“Lighten up, Rhodey.” Tony pleaded, trying not to giggle as he spoke, throwing an arm around his friend, “What's the point of sneaking out if you're just going to scowl the whole night?”

“Someone's got to keep an eye on you.” He laughed as Tony rolled his eyes.

“Says you, let's go find something to drink.” 

“They aren't going to serve you, Kiddo.” 

Tony's face fell, “I bet they'd serve Steve, he looks like a thirty year old.” 

“I do not.” Steve snapped, arm draped over Bucky.

“You kinda do,” Bucky chuckled, “go give it a try.”

“You're just as bad as _he_ is.”

Not far from where they stood, Bruce and his fiancee were looking at paintings.

“This would look really lovely in the living room,” Melanie said, her arm hooked around Bruce's. 

“Mhm,” He nodded, looking around at the people walking by. He didn't like going to these sort of things, too many people always made him anxious. He didn't like the lights or sounds either, he didn't know how Mel had got him here at all.

“I know impressionism isn't your favorite..”

“Yeah,” He nodded again, his eye suddenly caught by a couple of faces he recognized. What should've been a scowl turned into a chuckle at the sight of his students. _I wonder who instigated this._ He thought to himself as he watched Tony hang off one of the others. He couldn't help but stare at the boy, so full of energy. He spoke like an adult but ran around like a child, there was no wonder he had a hard time with people, he was too confusing. Finally, as if Tony had heard Bruce's thoughts, he turned his head and locked eyes. He stood staring back at Bruce, being pulled along by his friend Rhodey, his lips turning up into a grin. 

Bruce made a disapproving face at the boy before he motioned for him to come over. Tony dragged Rhodey across the way despite his friend's protests.

“And _what_ are you doing out so late on a school night?” Bruce asked, trying not to smile, “How'd you get out anyway?”

“Uh, Hi Mr. Banner.” Rhodey mumbled, glaring at Tony.

“Don't be mad, Bruce isn't going to tell on us.” Tony rolled his eyes, smirking up at the older man, “He understands that we need to relax after all those exams. Right Bruce?”

“Are these your students?” Melanie asked.

“Mhm,” Bruce nodded, “Tony and James.” 

“Oh, _this_ is Tony?” Melanie smiled, “I've heard quite a bit about you.”

Tony's impish grin grew two sizes wider, “Oh yeah? You talk about me, Mr. Banner?”

Every time Tony said _Mr. Banner_ , it made Bruce nervous, “Of course I talk about my worst student.”

Tony scoffed and Melanie batted at Bruce's arm, “He's always praising your work.”

“I bet he does,” Tony smirked as Rhodey tugged on his arm.

“ _Tony._ ” He mumbled through his teeth, glaring at the other, “Don't you think we should go?”

Tony sighed, Rhodey had the disapproving look on his face again. 

“Don't get in trouble,” Bruce warned with a smile as they turned to leave. 

Rhodey hit Tony in the shoulder, earning a yelp out of Tony, “Why did you do that?! You find the _one_ teacher here-”

“Calm down, he's not going to rat on us.” Tony rolled his eyes, rubbing his arm with a scowl. 

“Why do you go _straight_ for the teacher? What in your brain says that's the thing to do?”

“Chill out.”

 

“Hey,” Steve said, grabbing Tony's arm as he was passing, “where's Bucky?”

Tony squinted at Steve as if he didn't recognize him at first, then he shrugged, “I dunno. He's a big boy, I'm sure he's fine.”

“Are you drunk as well as high?” Steve asked, “How do you function?”

“All the practice.” Tony answered with a grin, trying half-heartedly to wriggle out of Steve's grasp, “Do you ever allow yourself to have fun, Mr. Rogers?”

“Do you ever take anything seriously?”

“I take pleasure _very_ seriously, I'll have you know.” Tony scowled up at the taller boy in mock annoyance. Steve couldn't help but smile at the stupid look on Tony's face, he didn't like how reckless he was but he was sort of entertaining. Tony wandered away and Steve couldn't help watching him go, he wondered if the saunter was intentional or not. 

Tony did end up finding Bucky, on accident of course. They ran around, being ridiculous and being loud. Once more they ran into Bruce, by nearly running _into_ him.

“Oh! Sorry—Bruce.” 

“Taking my advice to stay out of trouble, I see.” Bruce answered with a slight smirk.

“Uh huh,” Tony nodded, unaware of how big his smile was, “Where's the little woman?”

Bruce looked around as if he didn't know exactly where she was, “Oh, she's checking out wine.”

“Hm, that seems like a couple activity, why aren't _you_ there for that?” Tony asked, Bucky staring up at the lights on the ferris wheel.

“I don't drink,” Bruce answered with a shrug, “Something I see you don't have any problem with.”

Tony laughed, “Is it that obvious?”

Bruce nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets, “There's a slight slur to your usual eloquent speech. Your eyes look a little red too, are you stoned?”

“No, sir.” Tony laughed, shaking his head in failed mock seriousness. Giving Bucky a shove to wake him from the trance the lights had put him in.

Bruce shook his head and looked around for a moment, “You kids aren't afraid of getting caught sneaking back into school?”

Tony frowned at the word _kids_ , “Nope, sneaking out wasn't hard, why should sneaking in be?”

“Fool-proof logic as always.” Bruce nodded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always, I apologize for how jumpy it is.


	5. Kisses and Fists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

 “You're doing it again,” Bruce sighed, leaning back in his chair, Tony's latest test on his desk, “ _Why_ are you throwing it on purpose again? I thought we were past that.”

Tony's arms were crossed over his chest, he was slumped down in the chair, looking over at the window, a slight pout on his face, “You don't pay attention to me when I do it right.” 

Bruce frowned, “What?”

Tony turned his head toward the teacher, “You ignore me if I get all the answers correct. So why would I do that?”

Bruce was so confused by the answer, sometimes this kid was like a sixty year old to speak to and other times he acted like a two year old, “You just want my attention? This isn't how to get it, Tony.”

Tony smirked and uncrossed his arms, “Seems to work to me.”

Bruce shifted in his seat, darting his eyes to the clock, “I bet you do this a lot.”

Tony's smirk disappeared and was replaced by a look of confusion, “What?”

“Make a mess so adults will pay attention to you,” He replied, crossing his own arms over his chest, “Because just being good isn't enough for you, right?”

Tony smiled and stood, enjoying that the older man was handing it right back to him, “Something like that. Look at you, all perceptive.” 

He sat on Bruce's desk, knowing how he didn't like it, enjoying the scowl the teacher gave him, “Is that what happens at home?” Bruce asked, taking the picture frame from Tony's wandering hands, “Listen, I really don't want to be anyone's father figure.”

“Thanks, I've already got one,” Tony answered, scrunching his face up as he nudged Bruce's leg with his own. 

“Hey.” Bruce chuckled, holding out his hand for the book Tony was playing with. Tony looked at him with a look of defiant determination. He smiled and leaned forward, taking Bruce's hand in his own and kissing his palm. It felt like Tony had kissed flames into Bruce's skin, making his entire body hot. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what he wanted to do, but he couldn't look away. 

Tony lifted his eyes, suddenly looking his age, asking a silent question with that look. Tony still held Bruce's hand as he leaned back to see Bruce better. 

“Tony..” He couldn't manage anything else, he didn't know how he was suppose to react. Tony had looked so unsure in that one moment, but now he just stared back at the older man with an impassive expression. Their legs were still touching Bruce realized, but neither made to move. Suddenly Tony didn't look like the zany teenager he saw everyday, he looked much older, as if he had turned on a new setting Bruce hadn't met yet.

Finally Tony sighed, nudging Bruce's leg again, “Say something.” 

“I'm your teacher.” There it was, that was what was wrong with this, “I am your _teacher_.”

Tony rolled his eyes, sighing again, “And I'm the most interesting student you've had since you started teaching. Doesn't that count for something?”

Bruce sighed himself, running a hand through his dark hair, suddenly realizing just how much Tony had been flirting all along, “I am _twice_ your age, why would you even be attracted to me?” 

Tony smiled, almost shyly, “You're interesting too.” 

Bruce shook his head, looking down at the floor, “Tony..I'm sorry, you're a fantastic kid-”

“Kid?” Tony repeated, frowning, “Is that really how you look at me? Can you honestly say I'm just another student? No, I'm not, I'm different.” 

“You aren't.” Bruce said forcefully, standing and pulling Tony from the desk, “You are one of my students and that is all you're going to be. Not to mention I'm already in a relationship.”

Tony glared up at him, Bruce's hand still on his arm, “Yeah? She know you like guys too? Or you gonna surprise her with that on some anniversary?” 

“Time to go.” Bruce answered flatly, pushing Tony towards the door, “If you don't want to be treated like a kid then you should stop acting like one.” 

The words sounded too much like his father's for Tony to have any sort of reply before he was shoved out of the room. Bruce closed his eyes as he leaned against the wood, his fingers tingling and his ears ringing. 

 

 

Tony slammed the door a little harder than he'd intended, making the other boys look up.

“What's your problem?” Happy asked, his book falling onto the floor. Tony didn't answer so Happy continued, “And hey, what'd you do to my computer?”

“I fixed it.” Tony replied in an agitated tone as he flopped down onto his bed.

“Obviously.” Rhodey laughed, making a face.

“After tearing it apart!”

“Shut up, it's better now.” 

Happy made a noise as he turned back to the screen. Tony sat without moving for a moment, contemplating a nap, but he was soon up and about again. He turned on his own computer, thinking that maybe he should tear his own apart, just to have something to do. 

“What's wrong?” Rhodes asked, crossing his legs on his own bed. When Tony didn't answer, he tried a different tactic, “You know what's going on with Bucky?”

Tony shook his head, still glaring at his screen, “No?”

“Looks like he and Steve might break up. You, uh, don't have anything to do with that right?” 

Tony tilted his head to better scowl at Rhodey, “No. Why does everyone think I want to jump Bucky?” 

“Because you jump in his lap every chance you can.” Happy chimed in. 

Tony rolled his eyes, “I do not.”

“That's not what I meant.” Rhodey sighed.

“Sure it isn't.” Happy nodded sarcastically.

“Thanks guys.”

“ _Please_ , it's not as if you don't know how you behave,” Happy laughed, “Let me paint a picture of how tonight's going to go: you're going to get smashed, find someone to flirt with all night and then go off with them, never to be seen again. Just like the _last_ party.”

“Well don't you know how to sum up a story.” Tony smirked, “Never to be seen again?”

“Whatever.”

Tony threw a pillow over at Happy which started a battle between the two. Rhodes watched cradling his own laptop to keep it from being damaged by any of the flying weapons. Happy had it right, Tony didn't have very much self-control when he got into a senario with alcohol. And that was when Tony was happy, Rhodey worried what could happen when Tony was upset.

 

 

He didn't know why he felt such a strong need to keep an eye on Tony, it was like a toddler who kept running into the road. But at parties he was really hard to keep track of, he bounced around from group to group. Rhodey had to admit that he really did blossom in this sort of environment, he wasn't quite as pompous when he was drinking so other people got to see how charming he could really be. It was as if Tony didn't have a sexual preference, he would shamelessly first with anyone, the girls from the next school or the guys from their own. 

Tony kept drinking and kept thinking about what had happened today. It seemed like he finally found something he couldn't drown. He could feel Rodey's eyes on him but he didn't care, it was a stare he was getting used to. A stare he _should_ be used to by now, there was always someone watching to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. Maybe that was half the fun of it. 

Bucky sat down next to him, offering a drink he didn't recognize, “Why are you so down tonight?” 

“Just not feeling it,” Tony shrugged as he took a swig of the drink, making a face at the taste.

Bucky slouched against Tony, his words slurring, “Well that's sad. You're usually the life of the party, what does that make this?”

“I dunno, Buck,” Tony sighed, “just not feeling it.”

Bucky's hand landed on Tony's thigh, sliding up his jeans, “You know what I'm feeling?”

“Too much, whatever it is.” Tony leaned away.

“Come on,” Bucky whined, “You're always flirting with me.”

“I flirt with everyone.”

“ _And_ sleep with everyone.” He pointed out, leaning his face closer to Tony's.

“Not tonight, go find Steve if you want some.” Tony answered, removing Bucky's hand when it went a little too far. Steve, who had been talking with someone across the room had a perfect view of what was happening. He saw Tony's refusal, he understood that he was saying no, but it didn't make him any calmer about the situation. He pushed his drink into someone's hand and stormed over.

“What the fuck?” 

“It's nothing, Bucky's just dr-” Tony began, palms up in defense as he stood.

“You shut up, you're the reason this all happened.” Steve snapped.

Tony's eyes narrowed, “Nothing happened, Asshole.”

Steve rounded on Tony, looking down at him, “No, nothing happened before _you_ came along. Ever since you came here you've been causing trouble.” 

“Looks like your relationship was in trouble _before_ I got here,” Tony retorted, his mouth earning him a punch in the face yet again. Steve's arm swung the moment Tony got the words out, slamming Tony against the wall. 

“Whoa! Hey, everybody calm down.” Rhodey called, rushing in between them.

“Why you always gotta break up the fight, Rhodes!” Someone yelled.

“That little slut-”

“I didn't _do_ anything!” Tony held his jaw as he stood, making sure it still worked

“Steve, Tony-”

“Face it, Rhodey, neanderthals think with their fists.” 

Steve lunged forward, making Tony jump and Rhodey move forward to block them. He pushed against Steve's chest, “Cool it! You're gonna get a teacher up here and then it's over for everyone!”

As soon as Rhodey said the words there was a banging on the door, the party was over.


	6. “Be good, Tony.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The weather is CRAZY here! Ice keeps falling from the roof, sounds like war noises. Hope everyone’s staying safe!

“Baby, put the papers away.” Melanie sighed, wrapping her arms around Bruce. He didn't look up from the paper he held in his hand, even as she nuzzled her face into his neck.

“I just...I can't—I hate this kid, Mel!”

“I thought he was turning into your favorite?”

He sucked in his breath, “No....Mel, I can't even understand some of this!” He exclaimed, waving Tony's paper in his hand.

“Is it that bad?” She asked, looking over his shoulder.

“No! That's the point! It's so advanced _I_ can't comprehend...a fucking high school student..I sent it to one of _my_ professors because I just...He's just doing this to get under my skin.”

Melanie made a face as she walked to the other end of the table to sit, “Uh, that's a little extreme isn't it? You should be happy one of your students-”

“You don't understand it, Mel!” Bruce yelled, his frustration getting the better of him, “This isn't just some accidental genius, he is doing this on purpose.”

“Don't yell at me just because your ego is a little bruised.” She snapped back at him from across the table. 

“It is not my ego! This kid is a concocting little-”  
“Do you _hear_ yourself right now?! He's just a kid.”

“Exactly, he's just a kid! He shouldn't be able to do this! He shouldn't be able to do this to me!”

She stood, her chair scraping against the floor, “I'm going to bed, come up when you've got a hold on yourself.” 

Bruce let out a long exasperated sigh, letting his head roll back onto the back of the chair. He shouldn't let himself get so worked up and he shouldn't take it out on Melanie. But a high school shouldn't be able to get him so worked up in the first place. 

 

 

   The email Tony received looked like one his father's secretary could have written, but the not so subtle jabs at his character were the trademark stamp of his father. It consisted of the usual “You suck, Son” that Tony had come to expect. The school hadn't expelled anyone for the party, but letters had been sent home and they all had meetings with their advisors about their future at the school. At least he wasn't being sent home, that could please his father a little. He shoved his phone back in his pocket as he knocked on Bruce's office door.

  When Tony slumped into the chair opposite the teacher's desk Bruce immediately noticed the large bruise on his cheek. He stood up and walked around the desk, taking Tony's chin in his hand and examining the mark with a frown,“Rough weekend, huh?”

“Must've been a full moon.” Tony answered flatly. 

“Who was it _this_ time?” 

“Does it matter?” Tony retorted, a small smirk creeping onto his lips.

Bruce sighed and let his hand fall from Tony's warm skin, turning back to return to his desk, “So?”

“So..?”

“Was it at least a fun party?” Tony only pointed to his cheek in response, earning a chuckle from the teacher, “You kids probably just earned yourself an assembly about alcohol.” 

“The punishment just keeps coming.” Tony mumbled, looking over at the books stacked neatly on the shelf. Tony's lack of energy was strange, Bruce hadn't seen much of this side. As if Tony knew Bruce was about to ask what was the matter he perked up, “So did you enjoy my last paper?”

Bruce couldn't control the scowl that crept onto his face, his cheeks growing hot, “I would prefer-”  
“If I just kept it simple? I thought you wanted me to work to the best of my ability?” Tony said, trademark grin taking over his face, “Was it too much, _Mr. Banner_?” Saying his name like a joke.

“It was definitely interesting, Tony.” Bruce nodded, lacing his fingers together, “No one could ever accuse you of being a show off, that's for sure.”

“Well what _is_ it you want, Bruce?” Tony acted exasperated as he slid lower in the chair like a child, “Do you want me to write well or dumb it down?”

“I want you to stop messing around,” Bruce answered seriously, leaning forward and putting a hand on Tony's file, “I want you to take your work seriously, I'll give you more if that's what you want, I want you to stop getting into fights and I want you to stop fighting me. I'm here to help you, Tony.”

Tony stared back at Bruce, taken aback by the list, looking sort of frightened, “Um...” And to top it off he couldn't think of anything to say in return, “..Okay.”

 

 

“I don't care _what_ your professor says, he's wrong!” Tony exclaimed, grabbing the marker away from Bruce again so he could rewrite the equation. Bruce laughed as Tony dragged a stool over so he could reach higher on the board. Once again, Tony had demanded to stay after and argue a point Bruce had made during class. 

“Tony-”

“No! Just watch, I know what I'm doing!” The boy snapped as he scribbled, getting marker on himself in his excitement. Bruce knew he was going to have to take a photo of the whiteboard so he could send it to his own professor.

“Your second rate scholar can suck it!” Tony cheered as he hopped off the stool, “I'm sorry, but there's no matching wits with a Stark.” Saying his surname with a gleam of pride. 

Bruce stared at the scratches and squiggles, his brain running through it as quickly as possible. 

“Mr. Banner?” A voice asked from behind, making them both whirl around, “Could I get some help on this?”

Tony smirked as he sauntered over to Bruce's desk, plopping himself into the chair and pushing himself round, “What luck, more time for you to make up your excuse for being wrong.”

Bruce gave Tony a stern look before he sat down with the other boy, “Stay out of my desk.” He said over his shoulder at the very exact moment Tony was opening a drawer. Tony made a face and continued snooping through Bruce's things, he'd gotten far too comfortable in this room for Bruce's liking.

“I could grade these papers if you want,” He offered, rummaging through a stack of unfinished term papers, “Should I take your silence as a confirmation?” 

“Be good, Tony.” 

Tony let his head fall back against the chair with a loud sigh, kicking himself into a spin. Eventually _that_ got boring so he stopped abruptly and opened Bruce's laptop, wondering why he hadn't been playing with this all along. He glanced over to see if Bruce would notice and stop him but he was too involved with the other student. The password wasn't hard to figure out, generically personal as usual. As expected, there really wasn't anything good on Bruce's computer, however interesting Tony found him, Bruce was pretty boring. 

Bruce suddenly looked over his shoulder, Tony's sudden silence was unnerving, “What are you doing?” 

“You've got a facebook?! No way.” Tony giggled.

“Get off of there!” 

“Get back to tutoring!” Tony retorted, cradling the laptop in his arms and wheeling himself back into the safety of Bruce's office. Once Bruce finished with the student that actually needed help he went to find the other one that just wanted to cause trouble. He leaned against the door frame to his office, seeing Tony with his legs up on Bruce's desk, laptop balanced on some books while Tony flipped through another. 

“You,” Bruce said, making Tony look up, “are a pain in the ass.”

Tony made an insulted face, “Such language from a teacher.”

“Teacher? Is that what I am to you, Tony?” Bruce asked, smiling through gritted teeth as he took the laptop from it's precarious position and knocked Tony's legs from the desk, “I have some sort authority to you? When did this happen?!”

Tony laughed, “Alright, calm down, Banner.” 

Tony liked how relaxed Bruce was getting around him, that he was finally accepting Tony's unconventional role as a student.

 


	7. On a Teacher’s Salary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Bruce sipped his coffee while he tapped the screen of his tablet, the sounds of the cafe bustling around him. He knew he should go home soon, they were expecting company for dinner tonight, but he was enjoying his alone time too much. He wasn't very excited about the dinner party he had to go home to, they'd just want to talk about the wedding plans and when Bruce was going to quit teaching. It was just going to be uncomfortable for him.

“Sorry I'm late, were you waiting long?” 

Bruce looked up to see his student sliding into the booth across the table, of course it was Tony, who else. He chuckled as Tony reached for Bruce's coffee and took a swig, “Hello to you too.”

Tony made an unimpressed face, “This is..kind of awful.”

“Good,” Bruce answered, snatching the cup from Tony's hand, “it'll stunt your growth, not good for a growing boy like you.”

Tony gave the older man a sharp kick under the table, making them both laugh, “So what are you doing here, teach? _Can't_ be here for the coffee.” 

“You know, not all adults can afford Italian roast, Tony.” Bruce answered, sipping at the coffee Tony had deemed unfit, “especially not on a teacher's salary.” 

“Yeah what's that about? You're wasting your time teaching high school students. When are you gonna man up and get a big kid's job?”

“Excuse you, Mr. I'm-too-good-for-little-people-work!” Bruce laughed, tossing a napkin across the table, “What I do is-”  
“Very rewarding if you have no personality, I'm sure,” Tony nodded, tucking his legs up under him on the booth, “But you actually _know_ what you're talking about, well..most of the time. If you like teaching, then teach people who _want_ to be taught, why aren't you a college professor yet?”

That actually threw Bruce off a little, hearing that Tony thought so highly of him, “That's the plan, eventually. So I haven't seen too many black eyes lately, that's good.”

“Guess I'm just old news.” Tony shrugged, tapping the tabletop, “So, Bruce, you and I talk, but we've never really talked. Tell me about yourself. Where'd you grow up? Good childhood? When did you lose your virginity?”

“Okay, that's inappropriate!” Bruce couldn't help but laugh as he answered.

“It's part of my charm,” Tony shrugged with a grin.

Bruce narrowed his eyes slightly, leaning back against the booth, “You like talking about yourself so much, how about you tell me something about you? Why'd you come into the semester so late?”

Tony sucked on his teeth before answering, looking straight back into Bruce's own unwavering stare, “I got kicked out of my last school.”

That wasn't entirely shocking, Bruce had expected such an answer. Students didn't usually come in late for nothing, “What for?”

“Unbecoming conduct.” Tony answered with a smile, crossing his arms over his chess like he had just completed a move in a game of chess. 

Bruce nodded, “You causing trouble, _very_ hard to imagine.” 

“Yeah, I knew you wouldn't believe it.” Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, “What else, Teach? Even though I think I'm a _pretty_ obvious person.”

“Oh yeah, you're an open book.” Bruce nodded sarcastically, widening his eyes in mock seriousness, “What's family life like? You have a good relationship with your parents?”

Tony got a strange look on his face at the question, “Does anybody?”

“Well, I know your father is-”

“He's something alright, regular national treasure.” Tony said, glancing around the rest of the cafe as he spoke.

“Well what about your mother?”

“She died,” Tony shrugged with a weird nonchalant look on his face, he suddenly looked much younger than he acted, “Bruce, you're terrible at this. You're asking horrible questions, ask me when I first discovered I could do fractions in my head!” 

“So it's just you two? Is that hard?” Bruce asked, cradling the coffee cup in between his hands.

Tony rolled his eyes when Bruce refused to change the subject, “That's what boarding schools are for, Bruce,” Tony answered, in a tone that suggested Bruce was crazy for not seeing the obvious, “so we don't have to deal with each other.”

Bruce nodded, sighing as he looked down at the table, “I went to a boarding school for a while. I didn't have a great home life so I kind of welcomed it.” Tony frowned a little, staring across the table at the older man, “I certainly wasn't a smart ass like you, though.” Bruce said with a small smile. 

Tony cupped his face with his hand, leaning against his elbow, “You think I'm smart, Teach?” He asked in a higher pitched voice. 

Bruce rolled his eyes and shook his head, “You're _something_.” 

His phone buzzed in his pocket, making him jump, making him come down to reality, “Hey, Mel, I'm sorry I know. I'm on my way.” He stood as he spoke, looking down at Tony apologetically, “I'm sorry, Tony, I've got to run. Nice talking with you.”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded, watching him scoop up his belongs and jog out, the bell on the door chiming as he exited. 

 

 

“Are you hiding in here?” Melanie sighed, entering the kitchen with an empty wine bottle, “Honey, could you please try to be a bit more sociable?” 

“I'm not hiding.” Bruce mumbled, cutting up more vegetables with his back turned to her. 

“I'm just saying, these are _your_ friends too.” The tone in her voice made him grind his teeth.

“Yeah, great selection, Mel.” 

She crossed her arms over her ches and leaned against the counter, “Is this about Kent?”

“No, Melanie.” He sighed, setting the utensil down so he could turn to her, “It's about _you_ not knowing what I'm comfortable with. Why did you have to invite them?”

His ex had arrived with a new boyfriend on his arm, as perfect as if he had been mail ordered. Better than Bruce in every sense, he was a professor of archeology with three best selling books and a very obvious gym membership. 

“Because Kent is our friend, I thought you were over him?” 

“Mel, this isn't really the time-”

“Jesus, Bruce, we're getting _married_. Are you still-”

“I don't have feelings for Kent!” He hissed, “It's just so uncomfortable for me, Mel. Can't you understand that?”

She rolled her eyes and turned away, grabbing another bottle of wine before she went back out to their guests. He let out a long sigh as he gripped the side of the counter, his knuckles turning white. He startled at the sound of another person entering the kitchen.

“You need help with anything?” Kent asked, leaning in the doorway.

“Uh, no not really, I've got this.” Bruce smiled, tossing the vegetables onto the platter, there was an awkward feeling in the air, “So, Paul seems nice.”

“Yeah,” Kent nodded, “he really is. He'll probably end up president of the college he works...”

Bruce stopped listening to Kent's words and thought about the grading he'd have to do for the next day, thinking how tedious a job that would be, how it would be better than this. 

“How's teaching going?”

“Good,” Bruce nodded with a smile as they reentered the living room, “there are some really bright kids coming out of that school.”

“Oh yeah? Well that's why you get paid the big bucks.” Paul chimed in, “It's disgraceful what educators are paid for the work they do.” 

Bruce wasn't aware how hard he was glaring across the room at the other man. The other man who was paid three times what he earned for doing the same job. 

“He's actually teaching Howard Stark's son this term,” Melanie said, pouring drinks into everyone's glass. Well that struck up a new conversation.

“Really?”

“Howard Stark's son, what's that like?”

“It's an experience.” Bruce nodded, leaning back against his chair, “The kid should already be attending college courses.”

“Must be hard to accommodate,” Paul said, putting an arm around Kent as he spoke.

Bruce pursed his lips, “I guess I do my best. Excuse me.” He stood, moving through the room and down the hall. He opened the back door and let himself out into the cold air. His hands were balled up into fists as he paced round the back yard, beating his hands against his thighs. The entire night was so painful and awkward, he'd been squirming the whole time. He thought about taking the car and driving somewhere, but he knew he shouldn't drive while he was so angry. So instead he just started down the sidewalk, shoving his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't punch the neighbor's fence. 

 

 

The next day Bruce was very short tempered with his students, he tried to apologize for it when he caught it, but sometimes it just happened without his knowledge. By midday he was exhausted and really didn't know how he was going to get through the rest of the school day. 

Tony let himself in with the usual, “Knocking.” He had held a coffee cup in each hand as he sat in seat across from Bruce's desk. He set one of the cups down and pushed it over towards the teacher who looked down at it.

“What's this?”

“You're being a crab. Re-nourish yourself.” Tony said quietly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bruce sighed, wishing he had a better hold on his temper, “I'm sorry about that, Tony. Thank you.”

Tony uncrossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, “It's not that shit you're used to so don't be scared, that thing you're experiencing is taste. An interesting feature that comes with quality.”

Bruce smiled at the instant change in Tony's demeanor, “You know,” he began with a sip of the hot drink, “this is the first good thing all day.”

Tony stared at Bruce for a moment and then he looked down at his hands, biting back a smile, “That's what I'm here for, Banner. Functional as well as entertaining.” 

“I notice you're functioning better in your other classes,” Bruce mentioned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, “is it the extra work or are you just getting tired of the attention-seeking-child act?”

Tony scowled, “Child?”

“I said act,” Bruce held up his hands defensively, “you tell me if if it's real or not.” Tony continued to glare, which in itself earned a chuckle from Bruce, “I am pleased you're doing better, Tony.”

“Living vicariously?” Tony asked as he swung his legs up to drop onto the desk, earning a sigh from the teacher, “What? This bother you? Still? Bruce, when are we going to get past this? I sit at a desk all day, my feet need to be elevated. You should give it a try sometime, I bet you're circulation is shit.”

“You know why I don't like it?” Bruce said, smiling as he stood and grabbed Tony's legs so he could throw them back down, “Because it's disrespectful.”

Tony laughed as his feet hit the ground, “Disrespectful? Have you seen how I treat the other 'teachers' at this school? Please, I give you more respect than I give my father. Disrespectful..” His words turned into a mock angry mumble as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“How honored I feel,” Bruce shook his head as he sat back down, he glanced at the clock on his shelf, “Don't you have class soon.” 

Tony's face dropped and he leaned forward on the desk like he was going to share a secret, “Yeah, I was thinking it'd be better for all involved if I just hid out here until the end of the day.”

“Nope.” Bruce answered flatly, still unable to hide his smile as he stood, grabbing a book to take into the next room.

“Aw come on, I'll grade your papers.”

“Go on, Tony. Thank you for the coffee.” Bruce turned the student around and started shuffling him towards the door.

“Banner, I'm begging you, for everyone's sake. I'm just going to get into trouble if I go to class.” Tony looked up at the older man with pleading eyes.

“I don't take responsibility for the choices you make in other classrooms,” Bruce laughed as he pushed Tony out of the room and closed the door behind him, Tony still jabbering away on the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Putting up another chapter today just because I don’t think I’d have time to do it tomorrow. Hope everyone’s doing well.


	8. Stop Trying to Distract Me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, another chapter.

“Well, I don't know, Honey.” Bruce sighed, cradling his phone under his chin as he tried to keep his books from spilling onto the floor, “Whatever you pick will be beautiful.”

“It's your wedding too, Bruce.” Melanie groaned on the other end, “I know this isn't your thing but I could use your input.”

He scowled as he walked down the hall, repositioning the books in his arms, “We both know you wouldn't like anything I-”

“ _Bruce_ , could you just commit a little to this wedding? Maybe prove you can commit to _me_?”

“Okay, I've got to go.” He blurted pushing the door to his room open and letting the phone drop onto the bundle of books. He let out an angry noise as he tossed the books onto an empty desk, he ran a hand through his messy hair, trying not to hit something. Sometimes he just didn't know if they should be getting married, the stress didn't seem worth it. And being someone's husband seemed so final, like his time to be himself was running out. 

He leaned against a wall, breathing deeply as he let his head roll back. He didn't want to go home and pick which lace table cloth looked superior. Quite honestly, he just didn't care. He decided he'd do some grading first so he could cool down before he drove home. As he strode over to his tiny office, he realized he wasn't alone in the room, he poked his head in to see Tony Stark sitting on the floor, speed reading a physics book. 

“What are you doing in here?” Bruce asked, unsure how he even got in here after hours.

Tony looked up, obviously surprised by the teacher's arrival, “Hiding. What are you doing here?”

Same. Bruce thought as he walked around his desk reach a shelf and grab his grading book, “I belong here, you do not. How'd you even get in?”

Tony couldn't hide his guilty grin as he set the book down and hugged his knees to his chest, “I'm suppose to be in Olbert's detention.”

At that exact moment, Mrs. Olbert's voice could be heard from the hall, “ANTHONY STARK, you get _back_ here!”

Tony grinned like a little kid playing hide and seek, trying not to giggle as Bruce rolled his eyes disapprovingly at him, “You're going to get into worse trouble.”

“Not if she doesn't find me,” Tony pointed at Bruce to emphasize his point, “can I stay here?” 

“What'd you do this time? Didn't you _just_ have detention for her?”

Tony shrugged, looking like he had no idea why he was in trouble, trying and failing to look innocent, “I was just trying to have an adult conversation with her and she got all offended..” 

Bruce shook his head as he sat at his desk and pulled out a stack of tests to grade. Tony scowled when Bruce turned his attention elsewhere, so he scooted across the floor till he was at the foot of the desk, resting his arms over the top and peering at Bruce's work.

“Can I help?” 

“No.” 

“Did anyone catch the trick question?”

“What trick..?” Bruce began, frowning down at one of the tests. He then shot Tony a look, “You really want to argue against the morals of _humanity_?”

“Hey, if you don't challenge something, how do you know if it's acceptable?” Tony answered, looking pleased with himself as he looked up at the teacher. Bruce shook his head again and returned to his work, seeing Tony squirm around in the corner of his eye.

“Go sort my books if you're so fidgety.” He chuckled, watching Tony stand and consider it before he turned back and leaned himself against the desk again in an upright position. His hands resting behind him as he kicked one of his feet against Bruce's chair.

“Maybe later.” He mumbled, tilting his head to read an answer on one of the tests, “You're not seriously going to give him credit for that answer are you?”

“Tony.”

“Come on, Teach, I thought you were suppose to correct mistakes.” Tony taunted, poking the arm Bruce was writing with. 

“Tony,” Bruce said, trying to sound stern, “I'm busy.”

“Well at least do the job right!” Tony shook his head as he scolded, leaning lower against the desk so that he was closer to Bruce's eye level. 

“Go back to detention!” Bruce growled, poking Tony with his red pen.

“Don't tell me what to do.” Tony snickered, trying to look upset as he stole the pen Bruce was poking him with and turned on it's owner. The movement was so reminiscent of Melanie when they were a young couple who couldn't get enough of each other.

“Stop it.” Bruce sighed, trying and failing to sound serious as he smiled at the boy, “Tony, stop it.”

“Why don't you want my help? I could be a very useful asset, it's not like you're even doing it righ-”

“Ugh, just stop,” Bruce insisted, leaning forward to lay a quick kiss on Tony's moving lips. Their faces took a moment to catch up with their brains, both of them still smiling as they stared at each other. And then Bruce's face fell and he pulled back, smoothing against his chair. Tony's face had looked so hopeful now to be replaced with a look of total defeat.

“I..uh..” Bruce grasped around his brain, trying to find an explanation, “I'm sorry..Mel used to..I'm sorry.” 

Tony looked down at the floor, his hands gripping the edge of the table tightly, “That..wasn't just an accident. Was it?” He looked up, the hopeful look in his bright eyes made Bruce regret his words.

“I..don't know.” He shook his head, staring back at the boy who looked so _worried_. He looked so desperate for...approval? Is that what he wanted from Bruce? And hadn't Bruce already shown him how much he respected the student? Didn't he understand how wonderful he already was?

Bruce sighed and very deliberately reached up to grab the back of Tony's neck and pull him forward so he could actually kiss him. A real kiss, conscious and with purpose. Tony was shocked at first but immediately welcomed Bruce's advance, pressing himself against the other in response, making small noises of gratification when Bruce's hands slid down his body. Once it started, it was as if a wall had broken and could never be repaired. Bruce stood and easily lifted Tony onto the desk, positioning himself in between the boy's legs as he kissed his lips, Tony's hands reaching up to grab Bruce's dark hair and pull him closer. 

Tony purred when Bruce kissed his neck, he groaned when Bruce grabbed his ass and scooted him closer to his own body. When Tony wrapped a leg around Bruce's waist, Bruce leaned into him, putting them almost horizontal on the desk. Tony gasped for air when Bruce pulled away to suck on his jaw, unable to control his smile as Bruce hummed his appreciation, bruising the skin there.

A loud knock on the door made them freeze, eyes locking in a mutual panic, “Mr. Banner?” Mrs. Olbert's voice called from the hall.

Tony whined as Bruce straightened, pulling Tony from the desk and hurrying from the office, closing the door behind him. Tony sighed angrily, running a hand through his hair as he heard Bruce greet the woman.

“Bruce, have you seen Anthony Stark in the halls at all?”

“Uh, no. No, I haven't. Not today.” Bruce shook his head, his heartbeat ringing in his ears. Tony chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest, he made a mental note to do something awful to Mrs. Olbert's collection of teacups at his next convenience. 

“That child is a menace. There's no way he'll graduate, I don't care if he is the great Howard Stark's son.” She said bitterly, “Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you, Bruce.” 

“No, no, no bother, Grace.” Bruce nodded, sounding much jumpier than he'd intended. He let out a nervous noise as he shut the door, leaning against the wood for a brief moment before he returned to his office. Tony was sitting in his chair, legs up on the desk again, arms crossed over his chest, looking thoroughly annoyed. 

“Well that was inconvenient.” He sighed, removing his legs from the desktop. 

“Tony..” Bruce began, rubbing a hand over his eyes as he leaned against the door frame. 

Tony frowned and stood, “ _Don't_. Don't do that again.” 

“I'm your teacher-”

“Don't.”

“I'm twice your age-”

“Bruce.” Tony sighed, exasperatedly. 

“I'm getting married, Tony.” Bruce stared down at the floor, covering his mouth with a hand as if he were contemplating an equation. 

Tony sucked on his teeth for a moment, hands on his hips in an angry stance, “Then what were you just doing with me? What was that?” 

“I dont know,” Bruce shook his head, covering his eyes again, earning an angry noise from Tony.

“You're so full of it. You knew _exactly_ what you were doing over there,” Tony snapped, pointing at the desk, “And you liked it _just_ as much as I did.”

“That has nothing to do-”

“Why?” Tony pleaded, striding over and placing his hands on Bruce's chest, leaning up so he could kiss Bruce's mouth, “Why is something that good so bad to you?”

Bruce closed his eyes as Tony purred the words, nipping at Bruce's ear as he pressed himself against the older man. Bruce's hands ached for the touch of the other, so he couldn't help himself when he reached for Tony's hips to pull him closer. Tony moved slowly, obviously afraid of Bruce getting spooked again. Bruce breathed deeply as Tony kissed his neck, he slid his hands up to hold the back of Tony's head, turning his face so he could kiss those pink lips one more time.

 

 

Tony sat in the front row, making faces at Bruce as he tried to teach the class. He placed the end of the end of his pen in is mouth, sucking slowly and holding it between his teeth. When Bruce glanced over at him he faltered in the the middle of his sentence, shooting Tony a glare. 

“And um, that's why..”

Tony chuckled at how easy Bruce was to upset, he leaned forward cupping his cheek with the palm of his hand, staring intently at the teacher. He wiggled in his chair like he couldn't get comfortable, drawing Bruce's eye to him with every movement. He knew Bruce was going to scold him for this, he was looking angrier and angrier as he tried to teach the lesson, whatever it was because, Bruce wasn't making any sense. 

Finally he sighed, leaning against the board, getting chalk dust on his olive colored jacket, “Just open your books and start reading chapter twenty-three.” 

The rest of the class was silent as they read while Tony sighed and tapped his pen, bored because he had already read it. Bruce looked up at Tony's tapping, wishing the brat would let him do his job, wishing he could just ignore Tony but that was impossible now. When the class was over, Bruce instructed Tony to stay, earning a grin from the teenager. When everyone had left and the door was shut Tony stood up and came around Bruce's desk, but was stopped before he got close enough.

“No! That's _not_ why I told you to stay. Sit down.” Bruce snapped, pointing at the other chair.

Tony pouted, “What'd I do?”

“Stop trying to distract me! You aren't the only student in class.”

“Only one you were looking at,” Tony grinned, leaning back in the chair.

Bruce shook his head and rubbed his eyes, he was sure that if Tony had been a girl he'd be wearing short skirts and low cut shirts right about now, “Tony, please. I've got a job to do.”

“It's not my fault if you can't focus,” He shrugged, standing up again and going to the other side of the desk. He slid into Bruce's lap, pressing his forehead against the other's, “Maybe you just shouldn't look at me during class, if I'm _that_ distracting.” 

Bruce's hand stroked Tony's thigh as he leaned forward to kiss the boy, Tony's back arching as he leaned into the kiss. He made a noise of approval when Bruce's hand slid up his leg and squeezed, making him squirm on Bruce's lap. Bruce breathed deeply as Tony grinded against him, he slid his hands up to Tony's hips, moving him in a more deliberate manner. Tony purred and leaned back, letting his head fall back against Bruce's shoulder.

“Didn't look like you were paying attention either,” Bruce whispered into Tony's ear, making him twitch a little in his arms, “Alright, go to class.” He said suddenly dumping Tony off his lap. 

“Hey!” 

“You've got places to be,” Bruce smirked, waving Tony away like he didn't want him around, “Go socialize with people your own age.” 

“Don't tell me what to do.” Tony sneered at the older man as he begrudgingly grabbed his stuff to leave.

 

 

“Where've you been lately? You're like never around.” Happy pointed out, setting the pizza box between them. 

Tony shrugged, very aware how little he'd been spending with his peers, “I have a life outside you lovely people.” 

“Are you done with parties or something?” Clint asked, grabbing the biggest slice for himself.

“You guys really don't have any entertainment without me do you?” Tony laughed, looking up when Steve's shadow blocked the doorway. He pointed at Tony and motioned for him to come into the hall. Rhodey gave him a questioning look and Tony shrugged as he stood, “Man of few words I guess..”

He shut the door behind him and looked around for where the other boy had gone. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned down the hall, “Uh, so what's up?”

“You probably heard Bucky and I broke up.” Steve said, leaning against the white wall, “And I think I kind of overreacted with you. It wasn't your fault that...I just wanted to apologize, for..beating you up. Twice..” 

Tony smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the opposite wall, “That what you call a beating?” He asked jokingly, “Jeez, Rogers. Maybe you should hit the gym or something.”

When Steve realized Tony was kidding, he smiled, “So..are we okay?”

“Hey, you're the one who hates me, man. You tell me.” 

“I just, we have all these friends in common, so it'd be awkward if..”

Tony ran a hand through his hair, raising his eyebrows at the way Steve was muttering, “We're fine, Rogers. Come get some pizza before Clint eats it all.”

Steve hadn't expected Tony to act so nonchalantly, he had assumed Tony would be holding something of a grudge after what had happened between them. But here he was, welcoming him in as if it had never happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I did end up having time to post another chapter, so here we are.


	9. A Horizontal Position

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

   “Well for someone who doesn't like his job, it's the only place you seem to be anymore.” Melanie sighed on the other line.

“What do you want from me? I've got work to do, it's best to do it here. I get distracted at home.” Bruce answered, pacing back and forth in the office. 

“I want you to take some responsibility in the decision making process, this is _your_ wedding too.”

He couldn't help his next words, they'd been waiting beneath the surface for so long,“You want me to just say it? I don't care, I honestly don't care about the flowers or about the color of the font on the invitations. I wish I did, but I don't.” 

He heard her sigh on the other end of the conversation, “Do you even want to get married, Bruce?”

He paused too long, they both knew he paused too long, “Of course I do. I love you, Mel.”

 

 

“Well maybe I don't _want_ to go to MIT,” Tony spat back, storming down the hall, holding the phone close to his ear.

“Why would you say that? It's never been anywhere else for you and now what?” His father sounded so annoyed. He always sounded annoyed when he spoke with Tony, it obviously took up too much of his tie.

“It's never been anywhere else for _you_. Maybe I don't want to go to college at all.”

He heard his father sigh exasperatedly, “I'm not going to talk to you if you're going to act like this.”

“Oh yeah, _I'm_ the childish one. I'm just saying I don't know what I want right now.”

“Because you're young, that's why the decision is already made.”

“You know,” Tony growled, slapping a wall as he walked by, “I get good grades, I stay out of trouble-”

“You do _not_ stay out of trouble. I get frequent calls about you and the trouble you cause. Are you at least keeping clear of the of the teachers? I don't want another one of _those_ calls.”

“Just let that go already,” Tony mumbled. His father would never let go of the trouble he'd gotten into with his teacher from his last school, he'd said he'd never been so ashamed.

“Well, I wouldn't have to if you could stick to someone your own age.” His father replied, his tone flat and serious, “I shouldn't have to cover up mistakes like that, Anthony.”

“It's over, let it go!” Tony snapped, feeling like his father somehow knew about his new relationship.

“Keep it that way.” 

 

 

   Bruce had just hung up the phone and was now staring at the clock, willing his anger away. He hated the way Melanie could piss him off. He hated how she picked at things, he hated that she wouldn't listen and didn't understand. He jumped at the knock on the door, he whirled around as Tony walked in, slamming the door behind him. Tony looked strange, definitely upset, his breathing heavy as if he'd ran here. He stared at Bruce for a moment and then said, “I want sex, right now. You wanna be a part of that?” 

Bruce stared back at him, waiting to make sure and then he nodded, “Come here.” 

Tony rushed forward into Bruce's arms, Bruce met him with a kiss, pushing him up against the wall. Tony let out a small noise of surprise and delight, his disposition changing instantly with Bruce's touch. 

“Mm, _that's_ nice,” he grinned as Bruce started kissing his neck, pushing him harder against the wall, pressing his body against close. 

“You _would_ like it rough,” Bruce mumbled, hands sliding down Tony's sides to his hips, yanking him closer. His previous anger slipping away.

“Of course,” Tony smiled as Bruce took his hands and pulled him away from the wall, still kissing him as they moved. Bruce lifted Tony up onto the desk like he had that first time and Tony started fiddling with Bruce's belt. Bruce kissed harder, hungrier and was met with the same intensity from the younger boy. He gingerly unbuttoned Tony's jeans, leaning down to kiss the soft skin of his stomach before he pulled the material away, Tony squirmed slightly but hummed in appreciation, running a hand through Bruce's thick hair. 

Even though it was their first time together, they didn't take it slow, they both understood the urgency of the situation. Bruce tried to be slow about preparing Tony, but the boy was insistant that he was ready _now_. So, as Tony demanded, Bruce pulled down his own pants enough so that he could pull his own throbbing member out. Bruce leaned forward to kiss Tony as he entered as slowly as possible. From his horizontal position, Tony hadn't gotten a good look at Bruce's cock, he let out a noise of surprise as he realized just how big the man was. Bruce froze, looking afraid and earning a laugh from Tony who shook his head, “You're just...Mm, you're big.”

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle, leaning forward, lifting one of Tony's legs to wrap around his own waist as he started thrusting. Tony's eyes rolled back in his head, twisting his neck to nuzzle his face against the desk. 

He met Bruce's thrust, whining in appreciation when Bruce grabbed his hips for leverage. Bruce's thrusts grew in speed, Tony gripping at his arms, digging his blunt nails into his skin. He'd lean down to plant a kiss on Tony's parted, panting lips and then reach to bite down on his shoulder, earning a gasp from the teenager, making him arch up. This sex was so different from what'd he'd been having in the last years. Tony was matching his energy, needing him, begging for him. The sense of urgency made them cling to each other like they'd fly away if they didn't hold on.

Bruce felt Tony's legs tighten around him, his body tensing and his muscles flexing. Bruce smiled and leaning forward into Tony, groaning when Tony tightened the grip of his legs even _more_.

“Fuck,” He breathed, letting his head drop down for a moment, Tony grinning up at him, “Oh, you think that's funny, huh?”

He pulled Tony further down the table and pushed one of Tony's legs between them, stretching him in a new position. Tony's eyes went wide at the sudden change, his spine arching off the tabletop, “Mmmm.” His moans got suddenly louder at a particular thrust, he bucked up toward Bruce, squeezing his eyes shut. Bruce bit down on his own lip as he watched Tony's face scrunch up then fall into a look of surprise as his head rolled back, hitting the desk as he finally climaxed.

That put Bruce over and with a few final thrusts he was coming, groaning as his body relaxed against Tony's limp body. They stayed there, panting and exchanging a tired look of success. Tony finally unclenched his grip on Bruce's arm, leaving little crescent shapes imbedded in his skin. Bruce leaned down, taking Tony's chin in his hand so he could kiss him, pleased with the outcome of their extra curricular activity. 

“I think you hit your head at the end,” Bruce breathed, looking down at the mess he had to deal with. 

“Worth it.” Tony hummed, sitting up, obviously sore from the desk.

“Definitely,” Bruce turned around to kiss Tony again, suddenly craving him all over again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter isn’t very long. I’ve finished all my work for my winter class so hopefully the next few will be longer. Hope everyone’s doing well.


	10. Field Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Bruce glanced around, checking to make sure no one would notice. Most of the students were complaining amongst themselves and the other chaperoning teacher was discussing something with one of the asthmatic kids. 

“You'll be good, right?” Bruce whispered, leaning just close enough to brush against Tony for a brief moment. Tony smirked as he turned to see the teacher, who had suddenly put a great distance between them. 

“I think you're better qualified to answer that, _Mr. Banner_.” 

Bruce sighed, his fingers itching to reach out and touch the other. He liked to think _he_ was the one who had the most self-control, but at times like this he wasn't so sure, “ _Please_ , don't draw attention to yourself.”

The teenager pouted, “You never let me have fun.”

“ _Never_?” Bruce smiled at the question, “I thought you were having a good time on tuesday..”

Tony couldn't help but grin, Bruce suddenly getting serious when the other teacher came near. This trip to the museum really didn't seem too interesting, but once Tony realized Bruce was going to be a chaperone, he warmed up to the idea. He'd been to so many museums in his life that there was no way this was going to be stimulating, but maybe having Bruce around could entertain him.

Tony stayed away for a while, wandering the halls with Rhodey and Steve, complaining that he was bored. He'd catch glimpses of Bruce, passing by with a quick glance. Bruce was so jumpy of someone noticing how close they were that there were days he would ignore Tony entirely. The teenager was determined that today was not going to be one of those days. When his friends wouldn't notice him, he slipped away, he didn't have a hard time finding the teacher he wanted, he had a hunch where he'd be.

He was standing in front of a Botticelli painting, looking up at it with his hands in his pockets. Tony smiled and walked up behind him, gently resting his chin on the teacher's shoulder for a brief minute, “It's a fake, you know.”

Bruce jumped and looked around, afraid someone had seen. He licked his lips as he looked down at the teenager, he felt he should have known Tony would've skulked off to find him, “No it isn't.”

“Oh okay,” Tony made a face at him, “listen, Banner, just cause it's in a gallery doesn't make it the real deal. I know this because the real one is in my Dad's study.”

Bruce sighed, being reminded once again that Tony wasn't a normal kid, “Are you enjoying the field trip? Are you behaving? I haven't heard any security alarms going off.”

Tony shrugged nonchalantly, “This ain't my first rodeo, Banner, I know how to swipe stuff without getting caught.” He suddenly smiled and leaned forward, taking one of Bruce's hands in his, “I can do a lot of things without getting caught.”

“Uh,” Bruce turned his face away when Tony leaned up to kiss him, “ _Tony_ , we're in public.”

Around the corner, Rhodey was turning just in time to see the two together. He'd noticed Tony's disappearance and had gone looking for him, assuming he'd get into trouble. And as usual he was right.

“Yeah, exactly.” Tony grabbed a handful of Bruce's light blue shirt to pull him forward, reaching up to quickly kiss Bruce's mouth,“Doesn't that get you hot? Knowing someone could find us?”

Rhodey's mouth fell open at what he saw, he whirled around behind the wall, trying to figure out if he'd seen had actually just happened.

Tony pressed himself up against the teacher, Bruce's hands instinctively grabbing Tony's hips. Tony kissed hard, desperately in case Bruce suddenly pulled away. He couldn't help whimpering when Bruce squeezed, tugging on him, “Because you'd kind of like that, wouldn't you?” He whispered, nipping at Bruce's lower lip, “If someone saw us, saw what we do?” His hand reaching in between them to cup Bruce through his pants.

“ _Tony_ ,” Bruce hissed in his attempt-at-stern voice, as Tony put it, “we are in **public**. Someone _will_ find us.”

Tony pouted and then rolled his eyes, “So let's find somewhere not so public then. I want to suck you off. Must be all these erotic paintings.” He laughed at himself as he pulled on Bruce's hand. When Bruce wouldn't move, Tony pouted again, “Come on. _Please_ , Mr. Banner. I just want to show you how much I enjoy your lectures.” 

Rhodey could't believe what he was hearing. He turned and started walking in the other direction, unsure what to do with this new information.

 

 

As soon as the stall door was closed Tony pushed Bruce against the wall, kissing him hard, unable to stay in one place. 

“I promised myself this wouldn't happen here,” Bruce sighed, moaning as Tony rolled against Bruce's groin.

Tony scoffed as he fiddled with Bruce's pants, dropping to his knees _so_ quickly, “Well maybe you shouldn't make promises you can't keep.”

Tony didn't give the older man a chance to answer for he had his pants undone and was swallowing Bruce's cock before he could think of a response. He let out a startled cry when Tony took his entire member into his mouth, choking on his length. Bruce gripped at the wall for support, the sudden sensation making him feel weak. He'd honestly never gotten a better blow job than the ones he got from this teenager, sometimes it made him wonder about the extent of Tony's experience but right now he loved every other person Tony had to blow to learn to be this good. 

“God,” He hissed when Tony slid his tongue down his shaft, ending to suck at the head, making Bruce squirm. He was about to tell Tony to stop when he changed tactics, suddenly turning his head and licking from a whole new direction. Bruce let one hand drop to Tony's head, running his fingers through his mess of hair before he grabbed at it to pull Tony's face closer. He heard Tony make an appreciative noise, the humming vibrated around his penis, making him whine, “Fuck, why are you so good at that?”

He pulled tighter on Tony's hair, his other hand grabbing the other side of Tony's head so he could have some control of the situation. He thrust forward for about five seconds before Tony's hand shoved him back against the wall. Bruce whimpered but didn't mind, he liked how assertive Tony was being. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the tile, moaning when Tony took too much and choked, “Mmm....you're so bad.”

He wanted it to go on forever but he knew he was close, Tony was _too_ good at this. The sudden sound of the bathroom door opening shut Bruce up, he pulled Tony's hair to pull him back. Shooting him a look and shaking his head. 

Tony frowned angrily, wriggling out of Bruce's hold and leaning forward again, making Bruce jump when he took his cock back in between his lips. He wasn't gentle, as if he wanted to make Bruce moan as loudly as he could. Even though the stranger's presence had ruined it for him, Bruce was right back where he was when Tony continued. Too close, he covered his mouth, afraid he'd make noise and get them noticed. He looked down at Tony, who's eyes were shut as he sucked away. He looked so pleased, like he was having the time of his life down on his knees. 

And then Bruce was there, biting his own hand as he was coming into the teenager's eager mouth. He slumped a little when it was over, trying to control his heavy breathing. He glanced down at Tony, licking his lips as he smiled up at Bruce. Bruce reached down to cup Tony's cheek, “You are awful.” 

 

 

Bruce had shoved Tony in another direction when they exited the bathroom, telling him he didn't want to see or hear him the rest of the day. Tony smirked to himself as Bruce shuffled away, trying to regain his distinguished professor look that Tony had robbed him of. 

“What the hell!” Rhodey hissed, grabbing Tony's arm and dragging him down a less crowded corridor, “Like what the actual fuck?!”

“Whoa what-”

“Are you seriously fucking around with a teacher?! What part of you thinks that's an acceptable thing?”

“Rhodes, I'm not.” He said shortly, shrugging out of Rhodey's hold.

“Mr. Banner has a..whatever. He's a teacher! That's fucking illegal.”

“I'm not doing anything with Banner.” Tony crossed his arms over his chest, “Why would you-”

“I saw you!” 

Tony shook his head and looked away, “I don't know what you saw, but there's nothing going on.” 

Rhodey glared at Tony, “It's fucking illegal, Tony.”

“There's nothing going on, _Rhodey_.” Tony snapped back. They stared at each other for a moment before Tony changed his tone, putting on a childish voice,“Jeez, the things you think about. You've got a dirty mind, Rhodes.” 

Rhodey shook his head, still glaring daggers at the other, “Don't you care about _anything_?” Tony turned his head around, his face empty as he looked back at his friend, “Seriously, Tony. Do you _care_ what happens to other people?”

Tony turned and started walking in the opposite direction, walking like they hadn't just had the conversation.

“Do you even have any idea what you're doing?”

“Whatever I want,” Tony twirled around to walk backwards for a moment, giving Rhodey an incredulous look before he spun around. This time he shoved his hands in his pockets and there was a slight hunch in his shoulders as he stomped away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, I even promised I’d update (days ago) in a comment! I had every intention of doing this earlier but completely forgot!


	11. A New Environment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Bruce pulled the warm clothes from the dryer into the basket, enjoying the brief heat. As a kid, and of course as a teenager, Bruce had hated doing laundry, he'd wear the same clothes for a week to get out of doing laundry. But as he got older and life got harder on him, he found it very calming. The initial warmth was so soothing and then the repetition helped him ease his thoughts.

“ _You're not even_ _ **here**_ _when you're here.” Melanie had said, shoving clothes into a bag, “So until you get your shit together, I won't be here either.”_

He didn't dare admit it to himself, but there was a sense of relief when his fiance had left for her sister's place. He felt like he could finally breathe in his own home, for the first time in a long time. She was right, he was never _here._ He was always imagining his life differently, and then never doing anything to change it. And then came Tony Stark, the first and biggest change he'd ever experienced in a long time. Tony made him feel like a different person, _forced_ him to be a different person, someone he wasn't sure about. 

He wished he'd met Tony years ago, he wished Tony was his own age, he wished they could be together. Because he knew what they had wasn't real, they couldn't call it a real relationship. They couldn't go anywhere together, they couldn't enjoy each other's company at night or do domestic things together. Not that he could imagine Tony being domestic. Suddenly he realized he had the opportunity to try it out.

 

 

“So,” Tony began, looking around while Bruce shut the front door behind him, his hands shoved in his pockets in a defensive stance, “this is your place? Very conservative.” 

“Conservative?” Bruce raised an eyebrow, “what a dirty word coming from you.”

“Oh, because you care so much about my opinion?” Tony smiled as he walked forward, reaching his arms to wrap around Bruce's torso, “So you're sure the little woman isn't going to spring in?” 

Bruce nodded, leaning down to kiss Tony, unwinding his arms and taking his hands to direct him down the hall. Tony was uncomfortable in the bedroom, but he didn't let Bruce see that. It seemed like such a direct move to ask Tony over here, something they hadn't encountered yet, and he wasn't exactly sure how he was suppose to act. Around the room he saw her things, proof that she actually existed in Bruce's life. Sometimes she seemed like the imaginary friend that no one liked, made him forget she was real. Bruce always looked so unhappy whenever he brought up the woman, so Tony just didn't. But now, being in their house, he could smell her, it was such a heavy disapproving presence.

Maybe Bruce sensed Tony's discomfort, for he pulled him close, kissing him softly, wrapping his arms protectively around the smaller boy, “Are you alright being here? If you aren't..”

Tony nodded, looking his age again, “It's just weird, we usually only have the one environment.”

Bruce cupped Tony's cheek, “We don't have to do anything if you aren't comfortable, Tony.”

He smiled at the way Bruce said his name, he turned his face to kiss the palm of Bruce's hand. They did end up having sex, the slow, easy sex they hadn't been allowed to have until now. While Tony loved having sex in random spots, having a bed was heavenly, and he'd always assumed it would never happen, that their affair was confined to the classroom.

Tony rocked forward, his eyes closing as his head rolled back. Bruce's hands rested on his hips, guiding him but not forcing. He looked up at Tony, moving _so_ slowly, looking...peaceful. He whimpered when Bruce shifted, his hands reaching back to rest on Bruce's thighs for leverage. His lips parted as his torso stretched, his head rolling all the way back to reveal the sensitive skin of his throat. Bruce let one of his hands slide from Tony's hip up to his stomach, feeling his muscles shift before he'd even begun the motion. 

And then Bruce sat up, earning a small cry from Tony at the change in position, his eyes rolled back in his head as Bruce pulled him closer, their chests touching. Tony leaned forward, reaching out to kiss Bruce's lips, looping his arms around his neck. It was so calm, both of them were nearly silent, rocking against one another like they were only holding one another. It was so different from what they usually had, it would've made Tony nervous if he'd been more coherent. 

 

Tony padded barefoot across the wood floor, holding a mug as he returned to the bedroom, Bruce's sweatpants too big on him and hung low on his hips. Bruce glanced over at Tony's bare chest before he looked back to his laptop, nestled on his lap. First Tony handed the mug to Bruce, then he moved the laptop further down the bed and then he climbed over Bruce to rest between his legs, relaxing back against his chest, nuzzling his head under Bruce's chin. He pulled the laptop up to his own lap and looked over Bruce's work. He shook his head and proceeded to rewrite full paragraphs.

“Um, excuse me, _Mister_ Stark.” Bruce scolded, setting the mug down to try and control Tony's typing.

“I'm making it better.” The teenager answered frankly, shrugging away Bruce's hands.

Bruce leaned back, letting his head rest against the wall, his hand running over Tony's bare back, his thumb dragging down his spine. None of this felt real, Bruce wondered if he was just day dreaming all of this. Maybe he was suppose to be teaching a class right now.

He reached over Tony to push the laptop out of his reach, wrapping his arms around him to pull him close, restraining him from any escape. He quickly kissed Tony's cheek before Tony started wriggling, he wrapped a leg around Tony's squirming legs, settling him completely. Tony scowled like an angry cat, glaring up at Bruce from the strange position he'd ended up in. 

“Leave my work alone, please.” Bruce said calmly, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Tony's forehead, “Just relax would you?”

“How come you don't reprimand me like this in class?” Tony grinned, wriggling so that he was on his stomach looking up at Bruce, “pretty effective method.”

“You'd like that wouldn't you?” Bruce chuckled, admiring the dip in Tony's back, how it curved along like a stretching cat. His hand that had been resting on Tony's shoulder reached out to stroke along his back, “Thank you for coming tonight.”

“Oh no, thank **you** Mr. Ban-” Tony began, smug look already in place on his face.

“Be quiet. I was worried it would be too strange for you.” 

Tony shook his head, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand, “It's nice being somewhere else. I'm kind of stuck in a dorm. Not like I go home or anything.”

Bruce frowned, he always got a strange feeling on the few occasions Tony brought up home. Tony didn't seem bitter about his father but he didn't seem to have any sort of real feeling on the subject. 

“You've got a break coming up soon, you'll be home for that.” He pointed out.

Tony nodded, scooting up so he could rest his head on Bruce's stomach, drawing lines on his abdomen, “Not like he'll notice.”

“How could someone not notice _you_ were around?” Bruce asked, running a hand through Tony's dark hair, “You're too loud to go unnoticed.”

“Aw, you've figured out my strategy,” Tony laughed, nuzzling his face into Bruce's arm. Bruce didn't like that Tony's _joke_ wasn't a joke at all, he wished Tony could just open up about it. He leaned forward, straining a little, to kiss the top of Tony's head.

“You know, I'm really proud of the way you turned your school work around.” He said simply, playing with Tony's hair as he spoke. Aware that Tony probably didn't hear praise at home.

Tony frowned up at him, “Yeah, like it was such a tough battle.”

Bruce shrugged as he looked down at him, cupping his chin in his other hand, “Well I still appreciate it. It's important.” 

Tony rolled his eyes and rested his head back down on Bruce's bare stomach. 

 

 

Tony woke up, not recognizing his surroundings, cursing himself under his breath as he tried to slip quietly from the bed. He hated waking up in someone else's bed, it was always so weird, especially when they tried to make him stay. He dropped to the floor at the sound of the other person stirring, he started to crawl along the side of the be as silently as possible.

“Tony? What are you doing?” Bruce called, it all suddenly came flooding back to Tony at the sound of the older man. He popped his head up, his hair sticking up in all different directions, the confused look still stuck on his face, “What are you doing?” Bruce repeated.

“I slept here?” Tony asked in response. Bruce nodded, raising an eyebrow as Tony ran a hand through his hair, still looking disoriented, “I didn't mean to.”

Bruce frowned slightly at the nervous look on Tony's face, “Come here.” He held open his arms, Tony instantly doing as told, getting up from the floor and climbing over to Bruce. Bruce enveloped Tony with his arms, tugging him close, “Were you trying to sneak out?” He laughed, kissing the top of Tony's head.

“I forgot where I was!” Tony defended, snuggling into Bruce's chest, letting his head rest on Bruce's shoulder as he looked around the room. It was a very bright room, the colors all pastel, not good for a bedroom, “It doesn't even look like you live here.” Tony commented, letting his head nuzzle under Bruce's chin, “How long have you been here?”

Bruce slid his leg under Tony so he would fall in between Bruce's legs, “Around six years.”

“Shit.” 

“I'm not really into decorating, so I just left that to Mel.” 

Tony snuggled closer at the mention of Bruce's woman, he wanted to ask why they were even together, but he knew he wasn't going to. He got the same feeling he had had last night, unsure what he was suppose to do here when they weren't having sex. He didn't understand what else Bruce wanted from him.

“So, what does your schedule look like today?” Tony asked, tilting his head up.

“Breakfast, do some grading, maybe do _you_ later?” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Tony smiled.

 

 

“A little busy,” Bruce commented when Tony started kissing his neck, “I'm literally elbow deep in hot water. I can't be elbow deep in _you_ at the same time.” 

“You can't talk dirty without following it up,” Tony pouted, leaning his head against Bruce's back, his arms still wound around his waist, “Can't it wait?”

“It'd go by faster if you helped.” Bruce chuckled, turning his head to peek over his shoulder. 

Tony made a face and let his arms drop, “Nahh.” 

“Have you ever done a dish before, Mr. Stark?”

“Maybe..” Tony mumbled, hopping up on the counter, looking down at Bruce's hands in the soapy water. He reached in a finger to splash some water at up at Bruce, “This is boring.”

“Hey!” Bruce laughed, backing away from the splash, “Well entertain yourself then! As an adult, I'm taking care of my chores first.”

“Well as an Ah-dult, you are boring.” Tony replied, matter-of-factly as he slid from the countertop. He bumped Bruce's hip with his own before he sauntered away, “You got any childhood journals lying around? Or maybe some poorly directed porn you did to get yourself through college?” 

“Your mind goes to such strange places..” Bruce shook his head, he could hear Tony getting into things. He had grading to do, but he knew he was going to have to save his tv or whatever it was Tony was tearing apart, “Unlike your roommates, I _will_ do things to you if rip up my appliances, Tony Stark.” He called over his shoulder.

“Come at me, Banner!” Tony yelled, settling himself behind the television to get at the wires, “What kind of things?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter we’re still going to be at Bruce’s place for a good portion of it.


	12. Playing House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Tony's head was resting in Bruce's lap as he tried to grade tests, Tony's legs slung over the arm of the couch and his hands playing with the hem of the shirt he was wearing, Bruce's shirt. Neither of them had expected Tony to stay the whole weekend, so he hardly had clothes to change into, so he commandeered Bruce's closet.

“Are you hungry at all?” Bruce asked, glancing down at the teen for a second. He brushed the hand he wasn't working with through Tony's dark hair, twirling a strand between two fingers, “You must be bored.”

Tony tilted his head back to look up, he stared at Bruce as he worked, frowning at occasional answers. He'd _just_ asked Tony a question, but he was already gone again, just vaguely aware that someone else was there. Tony twisted his body so he was lying on his stomach, resting his head back onto Bruce's thigh. He _was_ bored, but he almost didn't mind. He sort of liked the quiet, as long as he was allowed to keep touching the older man.

“Hm?” Bruce hummed, finally noticing that Tony never answered. Instead of answering, Tony slid up the couch, crawling over Bruce so that he was lying in his lap like a sprawled out cat, “Oh, okay. That's doesn't make this difficult or anything. So, is that a yes? You are bored?”

Tony shrugged, letting his head fall down. Bruce raised an eyebrow and with a sigh, tossed his grading book onto the coffee table. He laced his fingers through Tony's hair again, stroking and massaging his scalp, “Do you want me to take you back to school?”

Tony scowled, his face scrunching against the couch cushion. He pulled himself up so he could straddle Bruce's lap, one leg on either side of him as he settled down. He slid his arms around Bruce's neck as he leaned forward to dip his face down to kiss him. Bruce lifted up, greeting the kiss, pulling Tony's hips closer. It was an impatient kiss, like Tony'd been waiting for this all day. He rolled against Bruce's groin, pressing his forehead against the other's, lacing his fingers behind Bruce's neck.

“Mmm,” Bruce purred, closing his eyes as Tony slid against him, “Was I ignoring you too much?”

Tony tilted his head to start kissing Bruce's neck, pulling down the edge of his shirt so he could suck on his collarbone, a particularly sensitive spot Tony had discovered. Bruce moaned, tilting his head back against the couch, reaching out his arms to pull at the black tank top Tony was wearing, pushing him away for a moment to yank it over his head. He removed his own quickly after, grabbing Tony's hips again and tugging Tony back to him, pressing up against him.

He knew for a fact Tony wasn't wearing anything under the sweatpants so he slid his hand under the waistband, sliding his hand down Tony's ass, giving him another tug closer, “Take them off.” He breathed into Tony's ear before kissing him. He shrugged out of his own jeans while Tony simply stood and stepped out of the too large sweatpants. He moved back into Bruce's lap, hovering while he kissed the other. Bruce's hand slipped in between them, gently gliding the length of Tony's hardening dick, making Tony moan against Bruce's lips.

Bruce reached his other hand, holding out a finger before Tony's parted mouth, Tony slowing took Bruce's digit between his lips, holding his stare all the while. He dragged teeth along Bruce's finger as he pulled it away, Bruce leaned forward to kiss Tony as he dropped his hand behind them. He held Tony's mouth with his as he slowly pressed against Tony's entrance. Tony winced slightly, leaning into Bruce's chest as he slid his finger further.

“I'm sorry I ignored you,” Bruce whispered, kissing Tony's jaw as Tony pressed back against his hand. Tony whined when Bruce pulled away, repositioning him in his lap, taking his own cock in hand, sliding it under Tony and making him squirm. He rubbed back and forth against Tony's ass, making him whine and wriggle.

“Stop!” Tony wailed, glaring angrily down at the older man. So Bruce complied, taking hold of Tony's hip with one hand and sliding himself into his entrance with the other. Tony gasped at the sudden change, pushing down against Bruce while he thrust up in a slow motion.

Tony grabbed onto Bruce's shoulders for support as he rolled against him, his head tilting back as they rocked together. Tony slid his legs around Bruce's middle, making him sit up more as Tony squeezed his legs and every muscle in his body. Bruce let out a gasp as Tony tightened around him, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Tony's shoulder as he tugged him closer, “God.”

Tony folded against Bruce, his finger nails digging into his back as he pressed himself as close as he could possibly get. He moaned when Bruce thrust up against him, pulling him down hard at the same time. Bruce leaned back slightly so he could see Tony's face, watching the expressions change while they moved. He knew Tony was close, so he gingerly scooped Tony up, earning a yelp from the unsuspecting boy, and switched their positions, landing them in a horizontal state on the couch.

Tony laughed at the sudden change, reaching up to kiss Bruce's lips as the older man took control of the situation. Bruce hooked Tony's leg over his arm as he thrust forward, his own eyes closing as he sucked in his breath. Tony's back arched off the couch when Bruce pulled back, pushing himself forward and whining for more.

“You're so demanding,” Bruce chuckled, taking Tony's other leg and swinging it over his own shoulder, tugging Tony closer and watching his eyes roll back in his head, “But I give you want you want, don't I?”

“Mmmm,” Tony purred as he nodded, looking up at Bruce with pleading eyes.

Bruce smiled down at him, taking Tony's cock into his hand, licking his lips as he slid his fingers around Tony's shaft. Tony moaned and mewed under his touch, whined and keened as he thrust deeper and faster. Tony came with a yell, his legs tensing and his toes curling while he gripped at the arm of the couch. The face Tony made when he came pushed Bruce over the edge, he leaned forward and pushed against Tony, his breath coming out in short gasps.

“Oh god...”He panted, his head dropping down. The phone began to ring but neither of them paid any mind, too caught up in their high.

Tony grinned up at him, “That do something for you, huh?”

“Me? You should see the look you give me if I pull away for too long.” Bruce laughed, leaning down to kiss the top of Tony's head.

Tony shrugged, looking down at the mess on his stomach, “I like your dick, can you blame me?”

The sudden voice on his answering machine kept Bruce from answering. Melanie's voice filled the room, making them both freeze, “Hey, Honey. It's me, I know it's been a while but I was just wondering how you're doing. You are feeding yourself, right?”

Tony looked when Bruce pulled away, staring over at the phone, just staring. Tony frowned and slid from his uncomfortable position, the high he had just been on was now gone.

“Well, you must be working. Give me a call when you get this, Honey.” Melanie said, ending the one-sided conversation. Bruce glanced over at Tony when he stood with a sigh. Bruce wanted to say something, but he didn't think there was anything to say. So he just watched Tony walk away to clean himself up. Melanie's voice had thrown him off, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Tony returned and quickly slipped into Bruce's sweatpants, his hands landing on his hips, “Do you want me to leave?”

Bruce looked up, suddenly surprised by the question. He didn't know what he wanted, “No, no I don’t.” 

 

 

“Tony,” Bruce whispered, gently shaking Tony's arm to try and wake him. He'd been having a fitful night but now he was crying out in his sleep. So again Bruce shook his arm, Tony turning in his sleep and pushing away from Bruce's hands. The whimper that came from the boy made Bruce sit up, he grabbed both of Tony's arms to pull him into an upright position, “Tony.”

Tony's eyes snapped open, wildly searching around and flinching at the initial sight of the other man. He stared back at Bruce, panting as his heart pounded in his ears. Just as Bruce was about to speak, Tony's eyes widened in a sudden panic and he pulled away to slide off the bed, sprinting across the room to the bathroom.

“Are you alright?” Bruce called, swinging his legs over the bed to rest his feet on the cold floor. The only answer he received was the sound of the teenager getting sick. Bruce pushed off the bed, striding quickly to the bathroom, grabbing the doorframe as he rounded corner. He frowned sympathetically at the sight of Tony hunched over the toilet bowl, his knuckles turning white as he gripped at the porcelain. He wasn't sure if he should get Tony something or just leave him alone.

“You okay?” He asked softly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe. Tony let out an embarrassed whine, slumping down on the floor.

“For fuck's sake.” He moaned, frowning over at the shower.

“Do you need anything?”

Tony shook his head, wiping the tears from his cheeks and running a hand through his hair, “No, I'm fine.”

It had been the smell, the smell of Melanie's perfume on the pillow that had made him feel sick. Ever since his mother died he hadn't been able to stand women's perfume, having it so close to his face made him feel like he had been eating it. Bruce returned, Tony hadn't even notice he'd left, with a glass of water, handing it down to the boy and reaching down to touch the back of his neck.

“You're pretty warm,” Bruce frowned, looking down at Tony who sipped at the water. Melanie was never sick so he never had to take care of someone in this way. Before he decided he'd rather teach, he had been in medical school and the sudden patient turned all that training on in his brain.

Tony sighed, unhappy that this was all happening and still shaken up by his nightmare. It had been a combination of his mother and Melanie, they kept morphing into one another, either screaming or ignoring him. He didn't want to look up at Bruce, embarrassed he'd been yelling in his sleep, embarrassed he'd gotten sick in front of him. And now Bruce was trying to make it all better, turning on the light and searching for medicine, it was awful.

“I'm fine.” He repeated, his chest aching as he pushed himself from the tiled floor.

“I think you've got a fever,” Bruce answered, pulling out a thermometer.

“Where's that go-”

“Shut up and put it under your tongue.” Bruce sighed, rolling his eyes at Tony's attempt at a joke.

“I don't want it.” Tony pouted, crossing his arms, “I'm fine.”

“You're _such_ a child sometimes.”

“Well maybe you shouldn't be fucking a teenager if you want adult behavior.” Tony stuck out his tongue as he squirmed away from Bruce's hold.

Tony hadn't meant it to be so coarse, but the words hung in the air a moment too long. Bruce tried not to sigh, grabbing Tony's hand and pulling him forward, “If you're sick I want to know so I can take care of you.”

“I'm not sick.” Tony began, Bruce feeling the back of his neck again, stroking the skin with his thumb.

Bruce scowled at Tony but nodded, “Go get in bed, I'll get you some more water.”

“I'm okay,” Tony insisted, tugging Bruce's hand as he moved to leave, “it was just the dream.. I'm fine.”

Bruce nodded again, frowning slightly as he rubbed Tony's shoulder. He wanted to say more, he wanted to ask if the boy was alright, he felt like there was more he should be doing. But he didn't want to embarrass Tony any more than the situation already had. He watched Tony walk away, afraid that he'd suddenly collapse or something, he felt like he should walk behind him to make sure.

“Do you, uh, want me to take you home or anything?” Bruce asked, leaning against the doorframe again. Tony looked over at Bruce as he sat back down on the bed, tucking his legs under him and holding his ankles. “Are you still comfortable here, I mean,” Bruce mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

“Are _you_ still comfortable with me being here?” Tony asked, frowning as he leaned back slightly. He was suddenly terrified that he'd somehow ruined everything, that it had been too much for Bruce, “Um, I can-”

“Stop,” Bruce shook his head, walking forward when Tony began to stand, “get back in bed, Tony. You're fine here. I just don't want you to feel...” He let his words trail off as he looked down at the teenager, “Does this sort of thing happen often?”

Tony frowned, he hated when Bruce tried to play counselor, “Nope.”

Bruce sighed, lifting Tony's legs to turn him on the bed, “Alright, I'm not going to make you talk about it.” He sat on the bed next to the teen, resisting the urge to check his forehead again, “But listen, Kiddo, you're eating soup tomorrow, whether you're sick or not.”

“Did you really just call me 'kiddo'?” Tony asked, glaring up at Bruce, “Better not do that during sex, man. I swear-”

“Shh.” Bruce shook his head and placed a hand over Tony's lips, “Go back to sleep.”

“You go back to sleep,” Tony scrunched up his face and knocked his leg against Bruce, “ _Kiddo_.”

 

 

Bruce had cradled Tony in his arms, letting him cuddle close through the night. Tony had obviously been thrown by they way Bruce had wanted to take care of him, for such a spoiled child, one would expect him to be used to being babied. Tony was quiet the rest of the night, but Bruce kept waking up to make sure he was alright.

In the morning, Bruce got up and did the things he'd been neglecting while Tony had been around. Today he _had_ to finish his grading, he wasn't going to let Tony distract him like the day before. He let Tony sleep in for quite a while, he figured he deserved it after his bad night. When he did go in to wake Tony, he sat on the edge of the bed and softly touched his cheek. It was striking how young he looked asleep, when his grown up words weren't distracting everyone.

Bruce frowned at the realization, he hated being reminded how young Tony was. There were some times he actually forgot, some times Tony made him believe he _was_ an adult and he'd let himself think there wasn't anything wrong. But right now, he reflected how much he must look like a parent, waking the teenager up. He frowned even as Tony's eyes opened, his face waking up with a smile when he saw Bruce beside him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, the frown slipping from his face as Tony stretched like a cat.

“Hungry.” Tony answered with a happy grin, stretching his arms over his head. He pulled himself up and leaned forward to kiss the older man.

“Well, hungry is good.” Bruce nodded, smiling as he ran a hand through Tony's messy hair, “I can make-”

“Nope,” Tony shook his head as he slipped from the bed, “we've already established that you can't cook. Which, by the way is simple chemistry, it shouldn't be so difficult for you.”

“You and your high standards, Mister Stark.” Bruce mumbled, pushing off the bed and walking out behind the other. Tony always had a wiggle to his walk, it made Bruce smile to watch him saunter along.

“There's nothing wrong with having high standards, Bruce. If I can't have what I want, it won't be because I expected it.” He pulled open the fridge, scowling at the contents before he started grabbing things. It seemed like he was trying to pull everything from every cabinet, pouring his ingredients onto the countertop. Bruce leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Tony set up. This must be what it's like to watch him tinker, his hands dashed around like he was playing the drums.

“What are you making?”

“A poor imitation of eggs benedict,” Tony replied, making a face as he cracked an egg, his wrist flicking in one swift motion, “not that I expected to find salmon in _your_ fridge..”

Bruce laughed out loud, “Sorry, Babe, but you couldn't be more right about that.” His laughter stopped suddenly, realizing what he'd called Tony. Babe. The term of endearment that he used so often with Melanie, the name he used whenever she made him laugh. It hadn't been intentional, it was just a response, “Well, still fancier than anything I would've done.”

“Don't I know it.” Tony stuck his tongue out over his shoulder. He turned his face back to his work, sighing a little at how distant Bruce had been since he'd woken up. He assumed the night before must've shook him a little, so he tried to act as poised as possible. Of all times to have one of his nightmares, he had to have it lying next to Bruce. The embarrassment was overwhelming.

“So,” Bruce sighed, sitting at the counter, eyes still watching Tony's fingers dance, “why does a boy brought up with servants know how to cook?”

“Because I have a desire to master everything so no one can be better than me, _Brrruce_.” Tony replied, mock seriousness on his face as he gave Bruce a stern look. Bruce knew Tony was trying to joke but he also knew there was real seriousness about the statement whether Tony knew it or not. He must on some level, maybe a psychologist had said it before or something and that's where Tony collected the words to use as a defense. To Bruce's surprise, Tony did answer the question seriously and quite honestly, “My mother was always cooking, so I hung around the kitchen to be with her. She called it the _important_ science.” He smiled at the words, his face immediately looking brighter, “She thought it was important that I know how to feed myself because when I got wrapped up in something I'd forget to go to meals. Still do sometimes, guess she just knew it was a thing I'd always have.” And slowly the happy expression faded, to be replaced by a more neutral one, “And when she died, I wasn't eating very much, so Jarvis dragged me to the kitchen and insisted I show him how she would've done the cooking.”

Bruce hadn't realized how much he was frowning until his face started to hurt, he watched Tony throw things into the skillet, his face still bland but not entirely empty. There was an obvious sadness to Tony's words that he wasn't capable of masking.

“And Dad didn't really want me around so I stuck to Jarvis, which meant more time in the kitchen. Great story, huh?”

“How old were you?” Bruce asked, leaning forward, his hand reaching up to cover his mouth unintentionally.

“Uh, ten. Old enough to remember, young enough to be affected. Quote, unquote Doctor Whoever.”

Bruce sighed, hearing the humorous tone creep back into Tony's voice, “That's the first time you've really opened up about something that big.”

“ _Ever_.” Tony hissed dramatically, making an exaggerated face, “Should take up psychology, Brucy, you got a hell of a lot more out of me than any shrink ever did.”

And Bruce believed it, so he thought he'd be bold with his next question, “What was your favorite dish of hers?”

Tony looked over at Bruce as if he'd asked the craziest thing in the world, but then he smiled, his features softening, “Peppered shrimp alfredo. It was something Dad really liked, so when she made it, it meant everyone would be happy. Jarvis still can't get it right.” He said with a small chuckle, “ _So_ , Banner, you gonna tell me how you lost your virginity or what?!”

 

 

Bruce finally got around to grading when Tony decided to take a shower, he thought this way he'd get some actual work done but of course all he could think about was Tony. He'd made a point of wiggling out of his clothes right in front Bruce, throwing a smirk over his shoulder as he sauntered away naked.

“ _Yeah, you grade those papers. I'll just be in there, wet and naked, all by myself.”_

“ _We both know_ _you_ _could do with a cleaning. I'd just get in the way.”_ Bruce had smiled, watching Tony walk. He didn't know how he'd become so infatuated with the boy or what he was going to do about it. Being with Tony just made him forget about his responsibilities and what he was suppose to do as an adult.

As he graded the high school papers he thought about how he should probably call Melanie back soon, he didn't want to shut her out completely. He really should give her a call, figure things out. And then came the familiar bellow of Johnny Storm.

“Hey, Hermit!” Johnny called, briefly knocking before he opened the door to let himself in, “ **You** have been ignoring the world and **I** am here to fix that.”

Bruce looked up, horrified as his friend came in unannounced. Johnny dropped his jacket on a chair and headed for the kitchen, going straight to the coffee maker. Bruce wanted to yell he was so frustrated, he had no idea what to do, how to fix the situation.

“Shit, it smells good in here! Since when do you know how to cook? We all thought you'd be starving without Mel. Ha, showed us, huh?”

Bruce stood but was unsure what to do with himself, his eyes darted toward the bathroom, “Uh, yeah.”

Johnny sipped the coffee he had poured himself, making a face at how cold it was, “Ugh, so much for that. Guess you haven't mastered coffee yet. So, what's going on, Bruce? How long has it been now?”

“What? Mel?” Bruce asked, frowning Johnny walked back toward the living room, “Uh, she's been at her sister's for five days.”

Johnny whistled, “You two at least speaking? Like what's going on?”

“I really..don't know.” Bruce mumbled, looking back towards the bathroom again, unaware of how fidgety he looked, “Uh, Johnny, I'm kind of busy today-”

“I mean hey, if you need time apart have at it. I just don't think you can get married _and_ be separated, unless you want to start a new wave of marriage or something.”

Bruce shot his friend a glare, “We're just going through a rough patch.”

They both turned at the sound of a door opening, Johnny frowning in confusion while Bruce looked terrified. Tony was running a towel through his wet hair, water dripping down his bare chest and those stupid sweatpants hung so low his hipbones were showing. Tony started to say something about the quality of the water pressure at the school but when he saw the two adults staring at him he froze. Droplets of water slid down his face as he looked back and forth between the two men, unsure what to do. Bruce looked so angry and the new person looked so confused. So Tony inched backwards sucking in his breath before he turned on his heel and shot back into the bathroom.

Johnny turned, eyes wide and mouth grinning, “What the hell was that?”

Bruce tried to get a hold of his facial expression but he was just so horrified, “Uh, I'm tutoring one of my..students today..”

“Uh huh,” Johnny nodded, his grin growing wider and wider, “so why was he in the shower? What subject is _that_?”

“Johnny-”

“What's going on there, huh?” He laughed, pointing in the direction Tony had disappeared in, “Oh my god, Bruce. A little early for a midlife crisis, man. But _whoa_ ,” He swiveled around, smirking over at the closed door, “what a piece. You always had good taste.”

“Johnny, it's not like that. He's here about school.” Bruce insisted, beating a fist against his thigh in frustration, “I wouldn't do-”

“Calm down, Bruce. I'm not judging.”

“It's not like that!”

“So, uh..is this why Mel left?”

“Johnny..” Bruce rubbed a hand over his face, his heart beat thumping in his ears, “There's nothing going on. I wouldn't do something that stupid.”

His friend gave him a look that shot through his lie, “I don't _care_ , Bruce. I just want to know what's going on with you, Man. If you wanna screw around with a student, you go right ahead.”

“Jesus christ.” Bruce growled, starting to pace back and forth, “I'm just tutoring him.”

Johnny chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest, “So many bad puns about tutoring...Whatever, go ahead and pretend. But I'd be a little more careful, Man. Mel might make a surprise visit, wouldn't that be-”

“Stop it.” Bruce scowled, glancing over at the door, wondering how Tony was, “Johnny, it's nothing. It's just..it's nothing. I...with everything with Mel...”

In the steamy bathroom, Tony leaned against the wall, frowning down at the tiled floor as he listened to the words from outside. His hair was still wet, dripping down the back of his neck and making him shiver. He wanted to leave, he wanted to go back to school, go home, go anywhere as long as it wasn't here. But he was trapped in the little room, forced to listen to Bruce scramble around the situation.

“Please just forget-”

“Whatever, I didn't see anything.” Johnny held up his hand defensively, raising his voice and tilting his head towards the bathroom, “There is no underage hot piece of ass hiding in your shower and that is why there is nothing for me to have seen. No robbing of the cradle happening here.”

Bruce sighed,“He's eighteen, but-”

“Really? Well, then what are you so worried about?” The blonde laughed, hitting Bruce's arm, “Sure hope he's getting extra credit for-”

“Stop it.”

“Does his oral exam-”

“Johnny!” Bruce glared, his eyebrows furrowing as he frowned, “Stop.”

Johnny rolled his eyes, “Whatever, it's not everyday I get to make jokes like these, but go ahead, take them away from me”

Once Johnny left, still muttering and swearing that he wasn't judging, Tony was released. Bruce looked so uncomfortable and frustrated, Tony wasn't sure where his anger was directed.

“I'm..sorry, about that.” Tony mumbled, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Bad timing. He won't..but still...” Bruce shook his head, rubbing a hand through his dark hair, “I uh..maybe-”

“I probably should leave.” Tony offered, Bruce looking over at him, letting out a tired sigh. He nodded in agreement, his lips a tight line. Tony inhaled deeply and turned on the personality, “After all, I've got homework to do. My dick science teacher assigned a twenty page paper, what an asshole, right? You probably know him actually. Bruce Banner? No? Well, take it from me, the guy's a prick.”

Bruce let out a short chuckle, rubbing his face with a hand, the frustration still pounding in his chest, “Sounds like it. Stupid him, he'll have to grade those papers. You want me to drive you back to the school?”

Tony chewed on the inside of his mouth, swaying slightly as he shook his head, “Nah, I'll walk. You've got stuff to do and it's not like it's far.”

Tony didn't want to stay here any longer but he was afraid that he wasn't going to be able to come back to what they had had the day before. The blank expression on Bruce's face scared him, it looked like his father's when he was done with him and wanted him gone. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter today, whoops. Well I hope everyone’s doing well. I found out today that I passed the MATs, so I certainly am! *Dancing to Chuck Berry*


	13. Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Tony didn't manage to sneak back into the school and ended up in a load of trouble, apparently being off school grounds for that long without permission was unacceptable behavior on his part. His father had been called, so Tony knew he could expect a call of his own later. Rhodey gave him a dirty look when he entered the room, turning his chair to face the other.

“Don't start.” Tony sighed, rolling his eyes as he pulled off his shirt and threw it. He rummaged around for a clean one, tossing the dirty ones back onto the floor.

“You make it in without getting caught?” He asked, his arms crossed over his chest. Tony hated the judgement in Rhodey's voice.

“Not really, must be getting rusty.” Tony wiggled out of his pants and pulled on a new pair, “I'm getting special _active_ detentions, whatever that means.”

“Maybe that'll keep you out of trouble. That's probably the idea.” Rhodey shrugged, leaning back in his chair, “So, where _did_ you spend the weekend, Tony?”

Tony glanced over at the other before flopping on his bed, “Out?”

“His wife didn't notice you there?”

“He isn't married, Rhodey.” Tony snapped, pushing himself up on his elbows, “Why do you care? What does it have to do with you?”

Rodey rolled his eyes and pushed at his desk with his foot, wheeling back slightly, “Because it's wrong. He's twice your age-”

“Off by a year.” Tony interjected with an attitude.

“He's your teacher-”

“Am I really being taught anything new? Does it really count?”

“And he's in a relationship,” Tony sighed, hearing the same old excuses from a new mouth, “I just wonder if you know what you're doing, Tony. People could get hurt. He could lose his job over you, is it really worth that? You're going to ruin his relationship _and_ his career? Just because you like a challenge?”

Tony sucked in his breath as he glared at his friend, “I know what I'm doing.”

Rhodes shook his head, turning in his chair, “Sure you do, you always know, don't you, Tony?”

He was about to reply but the buzzing of his phone cut him off, he answered, knowing exactly who it was before he spoke, “Yeah?”

“Expecting my call? You must know what I'm going to say as well.” His father's voice was it's usual flat tone but Tony could recognize the annoyance.

“Probably.”

“I said there wasn't going to be any more of this. If you're just going to make trouble for the rest of your life, tell me now and I'll drop you in a public school, at least that'll save some money.”

Tony lied back onto the bed, his head dropping over the side, “Would you prefer that, Dad? I could take another name if you'd like, then there's no embarrassment.”

“A little late for that now.”

Tony frowned and pulled himself back up, rolling onto his side and curling up, “They're making a big deal out of nothing. This school has a dumb curfew and they take way it too seriously.”

“That's not the point. These calls are getting so monotonous, Anthony.”  
“Well what else are they gonna call about? How I've surpassed everyone else in the school and they have nothing left to teach me? Who wants to hear that? Makes it sound like you're wasting your money.”

“Well why don't you channel that energy somewhere productive since you're _so_ bored. Or do you actually want to be expelled? Is that it? All this can't possibly be just to get my attention.”

Tony frowned, glancing over at Rhodey, who had gone back to his homework at the beginning of the phone call. He scratched at the back of his neck, knowing that his father had meant the words as a sort of joke, pointing out how pathetic that would be. Not that he really ever noticed when Tony needed attention.

“The school said their enforcing some sort of punishment, but I figured since that's always _so_ effective with you, it'd be good to give you one of my own.” Tony sat up at his father's words, “I've instructed the school to confiscate your computers for-”

“No?” Tony interrupted.

“A school like that has computers at your disposal, it isn't even necessary for you to-”

“No!”

“You wanted me to start parenting you more, didn't you?” His father said, bringing up a past conversation between them, “Well here it is.”

“How the fuck is-”  
“ _Anthony_.” The word ended his argument and forced a familiar silence.

 

 

Steve looked up at the angry stomping from the stairs, Tony obviously didn't see that there was another person in the basement, from the resentful noises that came from him. He stomped across the room and dropped down in front of a washing machine, grumbling as he pulled the door open and yanked a large part out. Steve's eyes widened at the angry display, Tony ripped parts off like paper, knowing all the weaknesses of the machine. Anything Tony couldn't get on the first try earned verbal abuse and he'd fight with it like a child throwing a tantrum.

“Motherfucker.”

“Uh....what are you doing?” Steve asked from his seat across the room. Tony looked up, eyes wild as he tugged at a part, using his leg for leverage.

“What does it look like I'm doing?” He asked, his voice glossed with a nasty sarcasm, “I'm doing fucking laundry!”

He slid against the tiled floor as he pulled against it, bumping into the machine and letting out an angry noise. Steve couldn't help but laugh, Tony usually tried to seem so cool and collected, but today he was just a mess.

With an exasperated sigh Tony stood, climbing onto the washing machine to reach the buttons, “I am _trying_ to compile parts so I can make myself a data processor, _Steve_. Because higher powers have decreed that I am in need of punishment and took **mine**!”

He dangled his head down, reaching back into the machine from up on top of it. He scowled down at what he was doing but briefly glanced over when Steve didn't say anything, “What?”

Steve shrugged, earning an annoyed sound from Tony. He didn't know what Tony was doing but he was sure the washing machine would never work again, “What'd you do?”

“Huh?”

“To have your own computer taken away.” Steve answered, standing and walking over, leaning himself against a dryer with his hands in his pockets. Peering down at Tony and his destruction of the machine.

“Oh, keeping up were we?” Tony lifted his head to smile. He untangled his legs and slid off the machine, “Come move this for me, big guy.”

“Can't do it yourself?” Steve chuckled, already moving forward before Tony could answer. He pulled the machine away from the wall, realizing that he was turning himself into an accomplice, “Far enough?”

“Yep,” Tony nodded, hopping back up and throwing a leg over the top so he could drop behind it.

“You didn't answer my question.” Steve said, leaning over to try to see what Tony was doing back there.

“I took Professor Fury's car for a spin.”

“Really?!” Steve exclaimed, eyes bugging out as he leaned over the machine to peer down at a chuckling Tony, “Seriously, are you a pathological liar or something?”

“It's been speculated but never diagnosed.” He replied, his arm shooting out and offering a part up, “Hold this. I just stayed out past curfew.”

“For _that_ they took your computer?”

“Plural,” Tony corrected bitterly, “no that was my father's contribution. In a sudden act of parenting.”

Tony looked up at Steve, wondering why he was still there, it wasn't like he could possibly find this entertaining. He stopped pulling for a second to look up at Steve's big blue eyes, he didn't understand why he was even there, it wasn't like Tony was saying anything interesting right now.

“So you can actually _make_ a computer from washing machine parts?” Steve asked as Tony climbed up, kicking against the wall to help pull himself up. Steve 'offered' a hand by grabbing Tony's arm and yanking him over. Tony looked shocked by the act, sliding off the machine and landing directly in front of the other.

“And other stuff,” Tony shrugged, scooping up parts and handing them over to Steve, “help me carry these.”

Tony didn't exactly _demand_ Steve do as he said, but he did have a tone that was insistant. Tony wasn't afraid of Steve or his size and there was something about that that Steve liked, so he took the parts without question and followed the other. Steve asked questions as they climbed the stairs and turned down the hall and sometimes Tony answered in English, sometimes he didn't. Tony would sigh when he had to repeat himself or reword things but he kept talking anyway. He liked being asked questions about this sort of thing.

“Sure, I can use them. It's all interconnected, like body parts.”

“But body parts from another animal.” Steve frowned, shifting the load he was carrying.

Tony rolled his eyes, “Minor details.”

“ _Anthony Stark_!” A loud voice called down the hall, “I _know_ this was you!”

“Shit.” Tony mumbled at the sight of the teacher. He turned to Steve, his face half grimace, half grin, “Better go.”

They turned on their heels and ran in the other direction, trying to put as much distance between Professor Fury and themselves. Tony let out a laugh as Steve swore at him, “This always happens around you!”

“You're just jealous because I'm popular!” Tony stuck out his tongue as they rounded a corner. Tony yanked open a closet door and pulled Steve in behind him, still giggling as they were covered in darkness, the only light coming creeping from under the closed door. Steve clapped a hand over Tony's mouth when the teacher stormed by, still shouting their names.

“What the hell!” He hissed, “Now you've got _me_ in trouble too.”

Tony made a face that Steve could just barely see, “Oh come on, you love it. This has been the most interesting hour you've had in months. Did you see his _face_!”

Tony's grin made Steve chuckle, Tony was way too excited about almost getting caught, he must be an adrenalin junky, “It was terrifying. I thought death was calling your name.”

Tony laughed, nodding as he looked around the small space, “Well, this is co-zy.” They both flinched at the sound of the teacher coming back around, “Who knows how long we could be in here, Steve. Might have to find ways to entertain ourselves, if you know-”

“ _Of course_ I know what you mean,” Steve sighed, rolling his eyes as he looked down at the crack of light. He breathed deeply while Tony smirked up at him. Of course Tony had been joking, trying to make Steve uncomfortable, but when Tony had said it Steve's skin grew hot. There really wasn't much space in the closet they were trapped in, they were already so close as it was.

 

 

“And when you finish with these, I'll find something _else_ for you to do. So don't go sneaking off, Stark.” Professor Fury growled, motioning toward the large stack of dishes.

“Why are you saying that to me? He's here too, he's obviously a troublemaker.” Tony whined, pointing at Steve, who promptly elbowed him in the rib.

“Shut up!” He hissed, “I'm here because of **you**!”

“Owww.” Tony whimpered, rubbing his side and acting all hurt.

“I'll be back to check on you, no messing around.”

Steve rounded on Tony once the teacher was out of sight, “You're such an asshole, why did you say I was part of it!”

“Uh, because you were?” Tony rolled his eyes like it was a stupid question, “You were helping, _remember_?”

Steve resisted the intense urge to hit him and turned to the sink, he was about to stick his hands in the hot water but then he realized that should be Tony's job. He grabbed Tony's arm and shoved him in front of the sink.

Tony made a face, “Nahhh. You can have that.”

“Get your hands in there. I am _not_ doing the hard work for you.” He grabbed the towel left for them to dry, “You ever done dishes before, Stark? Or were there too many servants for that?”

Tony scowled, shoving his hands in the hot water, mumbling, “Why is everyone obsessed with me doing dishes?” As he thought back to Bruce saying the same thing, “Yes I've done dishes, I've done laundry, I _am_ capable of doing domestic things.”

Steve laughed out loud, “ _Domestic_ , Jesus. _Normal_ people call them chores, Tony.”

Tony rolled his eyes, thrusting a plate into Steve's waiting hands. Their fingers brushed against one another and they fell silent for a moment.

“So,” Steve began, clearing his throat, “you actually do have servants and stuff at home, right?”

Tony sighed, “Yeah. It's not the big deal everyone thinks it is.”

“Yeah, okay.” Steve scoffed, “Maybe for you, rich boy.”

“Hey!” Tony snapped, scooping up a hand of bubbles and tossing them in Steve's direction, “I've been in boarding schools all my life, I don't get to enjoy it.”

“Whatever,” Steve scooped up his own handfull of bubbles in retaliation, “it's still more than the rest of us have, _rich boy_!”

They started laughing as the bubbles flew through the air, the dirty dishes abandoned on the counter. Eventually one of them, they both claimed the other started it, threw a handfull of water and it started a war. They giggled and yelled as they flung handfulls of soapy water at one another. At one moment Tony slid on the slippery floor and almost fell, Steve's hand reaching out to grab him, pulling him upright. They kept laughing, clinging to each other's soggy shirts, their eyes wide from the shock of what had just transpired.

“You almost just ate shit!” Steve exclaimed, almost slipping himself in his laughter, making Tony laugh all the more.

“Yeah, you're so graceful yourself!”

“Hey, I just saved your life, Stark. Be appreciative!”

“You're the reason I nearly fell, look at what a mess you made!” Tony laughed as he motioned to the floor. He grabbed a handful of his drenched shirt, twisting it to wring out the water.

“You started it!”

Tony looked absolutely offended, grabbing a sponge and flinging it at Steve's head, “I did nothing of the sort!”

“Liar.” Steve ducked the flying sponge and grabbed the dish towel to throw back.

“ **What's going on in here**?!” Boomed Professor Fury's voice as he reentered the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the MIA Bruce, he'll be right back in the next chapter.


	14. Call It What It Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Bruce shifted the books in his arms, jostling the strap of his bag on his shoulder as he walked down the icy sidewalk, careful not to slip. It was lightly snowing, the flakes falling down to cover the ground in a soft blanket of white fuzz. The cold weather had turned into winter and it was making everyone bundle up and stay inside. No one liked having to go outside around this time of year, having to worry about the ice, the wind blowing in their faces and the snow they had to tromp through.

He could see his breath as he exhaled, breathing deeply as he walked through the cold. He'd just been to a meeting with the rest of the department, discussing standardized tests and grading averages. He found it depressing, there was no elbow room as a high school teacher, even at a money palace like this one. He couldn't wait to be done with it, if he could just get out of this system he knew things would be different. As a college professor he wouldn't have to deal with any of these problems and maybe then he'd get some actual respect.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar walk of a familiar person. Tony Stark was bundled up in a black peacoat, a dark scarf wrapped around his neck, making him look like he had grown up in Europe, which might have been fact with the kind of upbringing Tony had received. His hands were deep in his pockets and his cheeks were painted pink from the cold. Before he could turn away, Tony's eyes met with Bruce's. It had been two weeks since Tony had stayed over and Bruce had been doing an amazing job of avoiding the boy. He knew Johnny wouldn't cause waves, he didn't even seem to care about what he'd seen, but it terrified Bruce. The idea of another person knowing about their affair had him more afraid than he'd ever been in his life. So he'd been avoiding Tony, completely ignoring him in class and ducking away whenever he saw him. He knew it was an immature route to take, but he just didn't know how to handle any of this.

Tony made a face when he saw the other and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets as he strode closer, Bruce still walking forward, “So you can't look me in the during class but gawking from afar is alright?”

“I just-”

“Oh and you _can_ speak to me,” Tony nodded, twisting his torso as he looked around, “I was starting to think you had-”

“Just stop, Tony.” Bruce sighed, halting on the path, looking over his shoulder.

“I'm just saying, you could've handled it better.” Tony's lips formed an unconscious pout as he looked down at the ground, kicking at the ice, “Maybe like an adult or something?”

Bruce shook his head, “You know what, Tony, I _am_ an adult. And no matter how intelligent you are, you're just a kid.”

Tony glared up at him, “I'm not just a _kid_. And stop saying my name like that.”

“I can't do this anymore. This is beyond inappropriate.”

Tony rolled his eyes as Bruce shuffled his books in his arms, “Well maybe you should have thought about that before you started fucking a-”

“Stop it!” Bruce hissed, looking around in a panic. Glaring at the boy, he pushed him further away from a crowd of students.

Tony glared up at him as Bruce shoved him away from any ears, “Let me guess, the little woman's back and everything's fine now, right? So now you're going to pretend like it never happened.”

Bruce closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down. He didn't want to get sucked into Tony's anger right now, “It should've happened at all. It was wrong of me to ask you over and I didn't handle it correctly. But that's it, no more of this.”

He could see Tony biting on his tongue, his cheeks puffing slightly like they always did when he was angry. Tony kicked at the ground again, “Until she leaves again and you get lonely, you mean.”

“Tony! I don't want to be part of your father fixation anymore!” He hissed, clenching his books tightly in his hands, his breath coming out in an angry white cloud.

Tony's face changed, his eyes widening at Bruce's horrifying words, “ _Father fixation_? What the fuck, Bruce! The _fuck_ -”

“Oh _please_ ,” Bruce shook his head, shifting and glancing over towards the building, “You were three thrusts away from calling me Daddy.”

Tony sucked in his breath, narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips, “Fuck you.” He turned on his heel, angrily stomping away before he whirled around to come back, “I do _not_ have a daddy complex!”

“So you call _this_ normal? Your friends go find people twice their age to sleep with? Guess times have changed.”

Tony made an angry noise, shaking his head as he backed away, “You're nothing like my fucking father, he's an adult that's actually got his shit together. _I_ see no resemblance.”

 

 

Steve opened the door and let his bag fall onto the floor where he kept his shoes, he startled at the form on his bed that wasn't him. Tony managed to somehow be curled up and sprawled out all at once on the bed, in only a way he could. He looked over at Tom, gesturing over at Tony with a questioning face.

“The weirdo was here when I came home,” Tom answered, shaking his head as he glanced over his shoulder, “ _How_ did he get in here? Did you leave it unlocked or something?”

“Yeah, these are really high tech locks. Took _hours_ to get into.” Tony said just as Steve was shaking his head no. Tony opened an eye to look up at Steve and then rolled himself away towards the wall.

“Tony,” Steve sighed, “Why are you sleeping on my bed?”

“You took too long to get here, I got bored.”

He smiled and shook his head, “Sorry. You didn't rip my computer apart did you?” He immediately turned toward his desk. He breathed a sigh of relief to see the machine still intact.

“I thought about it,” Tony answered, rolling back to watch Steve turn the computer on. He nuzzled his face against the pillow, tilting his head and smiling sleepily when Steve looked back over at him, “What took you so long anyway?”

“Uh, some of us go to class.”

“Excuse you,” Tony said, sitting up and crossing his legs under him, “I go to class.”

“My mistake,” Steve nodded, leaning back in his computer chair, “you just get _kicked_ _out_ of class. Totally different.”

Tony made a face and kicked out at Steve's chair, “It's not like that's a regular thing.”

“If it happens twice a month, it's regular.” Steve laughed, slapping Tony's foot away.

From the other side of the room, Tom was sneering at them in disgust, “Oh, so _that's_ why he was waiting in your bed.”

Both Steve and Tony looked up then back at each other, Tony snickered and Steve averted his eyes.

“Aw, don't be shy, darling,” Tony purred dramatically, getting up and sliding into Steve's lap, “I can't hide my feelings any longer. Let's tell the world!”

Tom rolled his eyes and Steve let Tony dump to the floor. Tony cried out as he hit the ground and whined, “Gawd, Stevie. You're so mean to me!”

 

 

Bruce pushed open the door to the locker rooms, his nose was immediately greeted by the smell of sweat. He never came down this way but the coach had asked him to come down at take a look at a student who'd been hurt during the P.E. class.

“Banner! Thanks for coming down to this end of campus,” Stan Boyd, the athletic director and P.E. teacher called when he spotted him across the locker room. Bodies passed by in every direction, throwing sweaty clothes at one another and calling names.

Stan came over and slapped a hand on Bruce's shoulder, the large man was pleasant enough but wasn't always aware of how aggressive his greetings could be,“I've got a boy in my office, cradling his ankle, I'm sure it's nothing but he sure is making a lot of noise about it so I thought I'd have you come look at him. You're basically a doctor, aren't you?”

“Uh, not really,” Bruce answered, following the big man, “I left medical school early, that's why I'm a teacher.”

“Still better than that nurse of ours.” Stan shook his head, then turned and pointed at a group of boys,“Hey! Stop screwing around and get cleaned up!”

Bruce turned his head in the direction the coach had yelled at, immediately he locked eyes with Tony Stark. His eyes were always immediately drawn to Tony, it was like he had an internal magnet for him. Tony stared back at him with a determined look as he pulled his shirt off. Bruce looked away and hurried into the coach's office. Tony shook his head, getting jostled out of his thoughts when his friend Clint bumped into him.

“Wake up, Stark. Showers, remember?”

“Oh how could I forget,” Tony shoved Clint back, “You getting all naked and wet? Mmm.”

“God, it's fags like you that make everyone think the whole school's queer.” Chris sneered, his golden hair slicked back by the water from the shower.

Tony turned to see the glare he was getting from the giant of a boy, “Am I offending you with my existence again?” He continued to remove his clothes as if he was only half interested in the conversation.

“Yeah, actually. I'm not comfortable with fags like you around while the rest of us are naked.” He turned to his friends who laughed in conformation.

“Your homophobic worry is a little ironic,” Tony replied with a smile, stepping under the spray of one of the showers, “I mean, _you're_ the one who's thinking about _me_ in the shower.”

“Are you calling me gay?” Chris snarled.

“You tell me, Goldilocks.”

Chris' fist crashed into Tony's face, he then grabbed Tony and slammed him against the wall, his head slapping against the tile, “You fucking fag, I am **not** gay!”

Tony saw stars before his eyes as his head struck the wall again, he kicked out at the other, making them both slip slightly on the tiled floor, “Get the fuck off of me.”

“Take it back, you cocksucker!” Chris growled, swinging his fist into Tony's stomach.

Tony sucked in his air, “You're _so_ unoriginal.”

Chris threw Tony down, his own body weight following after. Tony cried out when his shoulder met the floor, his vision flashing white as his arm made a disgusting cracking sound. Suddenly someone was pulling Chris off him and someone else was trying to help him up. He winced and fell back, the pain in his shoulder screaming over the rest of his injuries.

“Banner, calm down!” Coach Boyd was yelling, pulling Bruce from Chris.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” He shouted in the student's face.

“Bruce, let me deal with him! Take care of Stark.” The coach insisted, his hands tight on Bruce's arms as he fumed, “The show's over, get lost, all of you!”

Bruce's eyes burned hatred at the student before he turned and kneeled down to Tony. Tony's face scrunched up, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to push himself up.

“Stop it.” Bruce snapped, gently pushing Tony back down. He turned Tony's head, examining the area that had been getting hit, Tony still looking dazed.

Tony scowled up at him in between winces, obviously trying to push back tears of pain, “Kind of naked here.”

“Yeah I'm sure you're real embarrassed,” Bruce nodded as he gently touched Tony's shoulder, jumping a little when Tony cried out, “I think that might be dislocated.”

Tony sucked in his breath, looking down at his arm in concern. Bruce let him sit up when he was sure he wasn't going to hurt himself, holding him all the while. Bruce still looked angry as he stood, glancing over at Coach Boyd who was yelling at the student Tony'd been fighting with.

“Are you sure?” Tony asked, Bruce turning back to see him stand.

“Yeah, sorry but that's what it is.” Bruce nodded, pointing at the angle of the arm, “the force of the fall probably. How do you _always_ end up in these situations? Why are people always hurting you?”

Tony glared at his shoulder then back to Bruce, “Can I, uh, put clothes on?”

“Oh, yeah.” Bruce turned away and grabbed Tony's pants, “I don't think you'll be able to put on a shirt just yet. Is it hurting you now?”

He watched as Tony winced as he awkwardly pulled on his pants, making a face with every movement, Bruce so badly wanted to just do it himself to speed up the process,“A little.” Tony nodded, trying to cradle his arm somehow, Bruce frowned at the uncomfortable look on Tony's face. He placed a hand on the small of Tony's back, directing him towards the Coach's office. For a science teacher he sure was doing a lot of nurse work, “I need to set it back, Tony.”

“You're saying my name like it's going to hurt.” Tony frowned, sitting down on the table.

“It's going to hurt a lot more if we leave it like that. Lie down for me.”

“Haven't heard that from you in a while,” Tony grinned up at Bruce. The grin was quickly replaced by a look of pain as he did as he was told, Bruce moving his arm so that it was hanging from the table.

“Be quiet.” Bruce answered, slowly touching Tony's arm, seeing what range of motion there was. Tony flinched and turned his face away at a sudden flash of pain, “I'm sorry, I need to touch it.”

“You sure you're qualified for this, Bruce?” Tony asked trying to sound humorous but failing as he scrunched up his face.

“Try to stay still, okay?” Bruce instructed calmly, looking down at Tony, who almost looked scared, “It will be slow but then once it's done, it's done.”

Tony tilted his head up and stared at the ceiling as Bruce _slowly_ started to rotated Tony's arm up. He could hear Tony's breathing, shockingly calm as he continued to stare up. He wondered if he was trying to act stronger for Bruce's benefit. Bruce knew the bone was about to pop back into it's socket and knew Tony was about to experience a sudden sharp pain. He took a deep breath and there was the pop, Tony gasped and his body jerked forward in a startling motion.

“ _Fuck_!” Tony cried out, looking more shocked than anything.

Bruce winced at the noise Tony made,“Sorry, sorry. How is it now?”

Tony closed his eyes as he delicately let his arm move, a look of relief washed over his face. He beamed up at Bruce, “Better.”

Bruce smiled, nodding as Tony sat up, “Good. I knew you could handle that.”

Tony grinned, looking proud of Bruce's words. He continued to look Tony over, now that the shoulder was back in place. He shook his head at the areas Tony had been hit, gently poking and prodding, “You're going to have a few bruises. What was _this_ over?”

Tony shrugged like he had no idea, “ **You** came running kind of quickly.”

Bruce shot Tony a look, “I'm a teacher, you think we're just suppose to let fights go on?”

“Yeah whatever, I saw Boyd had to pull you off-”

“You did not, you were rolling on the floor.”

“Rolling?!” Tony scowled, lightly kicking at Bruce's knee, “ _I_ didn't feel a thing.”

“Sure.” Bruce nodded, watching Tony wince when he touched an already forming bruise on his stomach.

“Lucky you're around whenever I need saving,” Tony smirked, leaning forward towards Bruce's face, “Do you set these things up so you can come be the hero or something?”

Bruce tried to hide his smile, looking down at the student who looked so eager for his answer, “Not everyone is as conniving as you, Tony.” He leaned down slightly and planted a quick kiss on the top of Tony's head, breathing his permission back into the relationship they shared, “You're pretty high maintenance, you know.”

“And you seem to like taking care of me,” Tony shrugged, leaning up, and wincing, so he could kiss Bruce back. Bruce turned his face and backed away, looking over at the door to make sure no one was near.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've finally reached the end of the stuff that already existed. Now I'll have to actually start writing again...dun dun dun... That means I probably won't be posting as often as I have been, but I'll do my best to keep up.


	15. Ruining it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

“I said I was fine,” Tony repeated as they stepped from the car. The trip to the hospital had been pointless, they looked him over and said that the shoulder was back in place and now it just needed to heal. There was nothing they could do about the bruises so they weren't even there for that long. Howard refused to admit that it had been a useless trip.

“Why can't you ever just listen to me? It's my body, I think I know.” He continued as they stepped into the house, Jarvis closing the doors behind them. Tony shrugged off his coat and twisted the hospital tag on his wrist as if he could get it off that way.

“Having a high school teacher-”

“The high school _teacher_ fixed it.” Tony interrupted in a belligerent tone, “A lot more than the doctors did. It was a waste of time and you know it.”

Howard turned to face Tony, throwing the mail he had been looking at down on the table. His left eyebrow rose about an inch and his lips pursed into one thin line. Tony's eyes flickered down at the movement of Howard's hands, his right hand turning the ring on his left. Tony sucked in his breath at the familiar sight. His father always twisted the ring so that the head was on the inside of his hand whenever he was about to throw a slap Tony's way.

“The waste of time was getting caught in a fight—SLAP---in the first place, Anthony.” His voice remained calm while this hand swung out and made contact with Tony's face.

Tony stayed put where he was but flinched at the slap, turning his face back defiantly, “It wasn't my fault!”

His father's eyes narrowed at the response and his arm swung back once more, skin slapping against skin, his ring digging in and cutting Tony's face in the motion. The force of the blow threw Tony back a couple of paces, making him bump against Jarvis. He skidded behind Jarvis as his father loomed forward at him, “Don't you _ever_ talk back to me.” He hissed, pointing at him past the butler.

“It wasn't my fault!” Tony repeated, regretting his words as his father's eyes widened and he strode forward to grab Tony.

“Sir.” Jarvis said clearly, his arms still by his sides as he stood between them. They both stopped and looked at him as he motioned towards the phone that neither of them had noticed was ringing.

Howard sighed, straightening the ring on his finger and pushing back his hair that had fallen from it's usual place. Tony stared back at him as he looked down at him with a look of contempt.

“The day you stop hiding behind Jarvis is the day I'll finally be proud of you.” He said as he turned and walked towards the phone, turning off father mode and turning on the businessman. And like that it was over, Tony's heart beat was still thumping in his ears as he watched his father smile for the person on the other line. He smiled so easily for complete strangers and even for people he hated.

Tony hadn't meant to start anything, he just wanted to prove to his father that he wasn't a child. Jarvis turned around and took Tony's chin in his hand to lift up his face and examine his cheek. Tony looked up to see Jarvis frown, or Jarvis' equivalent to a frown, as he touched the cut on Tony's cheek.

Tony pulled his face away, mumbling that he was fine as he looked back over at his father. He wished he could just stand and take it, but he _did_ always hide behind Jarvis. Because Jarvis had somehow become the middle ground between them and had turned into Tony's sanctuary whenever Howard flew into a rage.

Jarvis made a noise like a sigh and took Tony's wrist and pulled him away. He took him down the hall and pulled him into the kitchen and sat him in a chair. Tony reached up and wiped at the cut on his face, smearing the trail of blood that he wasn't aware of. Jarvis returned with provisions to clean the cut on Tony's cheek, sighing again once he started, “Is there any requests for tonight's meal, Sir?”

Tony shook his head, unable to come up with anything witty to say, “I don't care.”

Jarvis' hands stopped for a moment before he cleared his throat, “Well, then maybe you should be the one making it tonight.”

Tony glanced up, completely aware of the tactic Jarvis was trying to use, “I really don't feel like it tonight, Jay.”

“Well maybe that's exactly why you should.” Jarvis insisted, standing and pulling Tony to his feet, dragging him over to the counter and placing a head of lettuce and a knife in front of him. Tony sighed like the teenager he was but took up the knife and started chopping, recognizing that he was going to have to go back to school and leave Jarivs again.

 

 

Bruce had always hated texting, he'd go on and on about how it was dangerous to have written evidence of their affair anywhere. So whenever Bruce _did_ text him, it was a pleasant surprise. He sat up on his bed, tucking his legs under him as he grinned down at his phone.

\--Want to go for a ride?--

He wasn't sure if Bruce had meant for it to sound dirty or if it was just dirty in his own mind. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stumbling slightly as he crossed the room and pulled on a hoodie, not bothering with an actual shirt because—if he was right about the dirty text—he wouldn't need one. Both of his roommates were asleep, because all other normal human beings were at this late hour. He tried to leave as quietly as possible, not wanting Rhodey's judgment to ruin the moment. Bruce wasn't usually the one to instigate this sort of thing, especially so late at night. He realized, as he skipped two stairs at a time, that his wardrobe choice would prove faulty as soon as he got outside into the cold air.

He'd gotten much better at sneaking out of the school without getting caught, it was as if they thought the cold weather would simply keep the students inside so they didn't have to keep watch. It amazed him how much they underestimated him. Of course Bruce hadn't parked right outside the campus grounds, so Tony had to walk a ways before he saw the car. He had to keep himself from running there, he was way too eager but Bruce didn't have to know that right away. He sauntered over, his hands in his pockets, acting like he was just out for a stroll.

When he came up to the car Bruce rolled down his window, “You're sure taking your time.”

“I was told not to get into cars with strange men.” Tony answered, trying not grin so obviously.

“ _I'm_ the strange one?”

“You're definitely the one who wants some strange.”

“Get in, Tony.”

Tony did as he was told, sliding into the passenger seat. Bruce moved the car as soon as the door was shut, putting as much distance between them and the school as possible.

“How's the arm?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the road while Tony's hand slipped into his lap.

“Fine.” Tony answered as he unhooked Bruce's jeans. Bruce squirmed at the touch but Tony ignored him, “PhD doctor approved.”

“Could you wait till I park?”

“Too distracting? You always say that, you have terrible focus, Bruce.”

“Just wait.” Bruce said, with more force in his voice this time. Tony didn't listen very often, but there was a higher chance of it when Bruce used a sterner voice. With a pout, Tony sat back in his seat, slumping down and crossing his arms. The rest of the ride Tony acted like he wasn't interested in Bruce at all, so when Bruce parked the car he pulled Tony close by wrapping a hand around the back of his head and yanking him forward. It shocked Tony for about a second but then he was kissing Bruce right back, the kiss hard and desperate.

Tony hummed against Bruce's lips, rolling forward even though their bodies weren't touching. They pawed at each other with the barrier of the car in between them. Bruce pulled away, grabbing the handle of the door to get out while Tony simply slid in between the two front seats to reach the back. Bruce slid out of his jeans before he reentered the car as it would be too difficult at that angle. They both undressed quickly, both in a hurry to touch one another.

“Well you were ready for this, weren't you?” Bruce laughed at how little clothing Tony had actually been wearing.

Tony shifted on top of Bruce the second he slid into the car, pressing their mouths back together. Bruce sighed, his eyes closing as his fingers traced up Tony's body, Tony purring in appreciation, rolling against the other.

“I missed you,” Tony breathed, his back arching as Bruce's hand slid down his side, giving his ass a squeeze.

Bruce, who was kissing Tony's neck, pulled his face away to look up at the teenager in his lap, “Oh I'm sure you kept yourself occupied.”

“I did not.” Tony retorted, looking put out.

Bruce's hand reached in between them, taking Tony's cock and his own and sliding them together, “I heard about the trouble you got into.” Tony rocked against Bruce's hold, his eyes closing while Bruce leaned forward to kiss his throat, “You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?”

Tony smiled slightly and nodded, his eyes still shut so he didn't see Bruce's other hand slipping around him. He jumped when Bruce's hand unexpectedly slid down his ass, fingers gliding over his entrance. He whined and leaned back against Bruce's hand, grabbing a handful of Bruce's hair and yanking him forward with him. Tony was so anxious and it made Bruce feel like a teenager himself, screwing around in the middle of the night in the back of his car, it wasn't something he ever thought he'd do again.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to Tony's. One hand in the small of his back, holding him close, the other lightly massaging Tony's entrance, applying just enough pressure to tease him. Tony dipped his head down against Bruce's shoulder, rocking forward and grinding their groins against one another.

“You missed me, huh?” Bruce asked, watching Tony wriggle on his lap.

Tony nodded, whimpering when Bruce slid in a single digit, “ _So_ much.”

Bruce smiled as Tony bit his lip, leaning back to feel more, “Why didn't you just find someone else?”

Tony frowned, looking down in confusion as Bruce fucked him with his finger, “What?”

“You could find someone else if you wanted it that bad. Why didn't you?”

“I don't want someone else.” Tony answered, looking back defiantly. He leaned forward and forcefully took Bruce's lips in with his own. Bruce smiled against the kiss, amused at how offended Tony had looked. He slid his finger from Tony's entrance and replacing it with his leaking cock, he gently eased his way in, they really hadn't thought this through enough to bring lube, but Tony was always so certain that he'd be fine without it.

Tony whined, his head rolling back onto his shoulders, Bruce's arms wrapped around his middle, holding him close as they slowly moved against one another. Tony's thighs tightened on either side of Bruce, squeezing him and making his breath hitch in his throat. He pushed his hips up as Tony rocked over him, his body rolling back and forth with the movement. His hands came to rest firmly on Tony's hips, manipulating him into a rhythm for both of them. He knew Tony enjoyed that, Tony liked being told what to do –if only in sex.

Bruce leaned forward to kiss Tony's shoulder, kissing that turned into biting, leaving red marks on the light skin. Another thing Tony seemed to love, his toes curling on the seat when Bruce thrust up at the same time his teeth came down. He whimpered and whined as they moved together, the noises he made turning Bruce on all the more. Suddenly Tony pulled away, removing himself from Bruce entirely to change the position. He turned around and seated himself back onto Bruce's lap, Bruce easily guiding his cock back to Tony's ass. This new position hit new spots for both of them and sped up their rhythm, Tony leaning back and letting his head fall against Bruce's shoulder, Bruce's arms wrapped around Tony's middle, yanking him close with each thrust.

Bruce let one had slip down and take hold of Tony's cock, sliding up and down and earning new noises from the boy. He let out a sob when Bruce suddenly changed his pace to an infuriating crawl, Bruce new Tony would be over the edge soon so he slowed down just to tease. And then in retaliation, Tony squeezed himself around Bruce, making his eyes roll back in his head and nearly making him come. So he resumed pumping Tony's cock, not wanting to be the first one at the finish line in what had somehow become a contest. They ended up finishing each other off around the same time, both crying out at the sudden crest. Tony slumped back against Bruce's chest, his breath coming out in sharp gasps. They sat there for a while, trying to breathe through the steamy air in the car and enjoy their high. Finally they pulled apart, Tony grinning stupidly through glassy eyes while Bruce wriggled into his pants.

He laughed at the dumb look on Tony's face and was about to make a comment when he noticed—and he didn't know how he hadn't noticed before—the cut on Tony's face. He reached forward to touch the teenager's cheek, “This wasn't there before, right?”

Tony looked confused that Bruce was talking about something other than sex, “What?”

“You've got a cut here. How'd that happen?”

“Oh, home. Got in the way.” Tony shook his head and looked down for his own clothes.

“Got in the way? What dose that mean, Tony?” Bruce frowned, pulling his shirt over his head.

Tony scowled, “You're saying my name weird again.”

“Like I disapprove? Yeah. What do you mean? Does your father hit you?” He asked, squaring in the seat so that he was facing Tony with his entire body. His own abusive childhood came flooding back to him as Tony uncomfortably dodged the conversation.

“It's not a big deal, Bruce.” Tony sighed, looking for something in the car to clean up with, “You don't _always_ have to save me.”

“Tony, does he hit you?” Bruce repeated angrily, “Please, I want to know.”

“Why are you ruining it?” Tony whined, “Can't you just let us be happy for a little while? You always have to bring in _something_ , something always has to be wrong.”

Bruce almost rolled his eyes at how fast Tony returned to teenager status, “Because something _is_ always wrong. And I'm not trying to attack you, I just want to know-”

“Well it's none of your business.”

“I think it is.” Bruce frowned seriously, a whole collection of images of Tony's home life flashing through his mind while Tony ignored him, “How often-”

“ _Please_?” Tony sighed, “Please just let it go? Just for today?”

Tony looked up at Bruce with a defeated expression and it made Bruce feel bad for ruining Tony's high, especially since he was the one who had invited him here. He nodded his head and pulled Tony close, kissing the side of his head and letting the matter rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the hiatus! Hope everyone's staying warm (I am NOT). Sleeponrooftops and I are cuddling under a blanket to stay warm and failing.


	16. The Stark Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I apologize for the hiatus!

Steve watched Tony stomp down the hall, his hips square, not in his usual saunter. Rhodey followed out the door and turned in the opposite direction, coming toward Steve.

“Everything okay?”

Rhodey rolled his eyes with a huff, “Tony Stark.”

Steve nodded, watching Tony disappear around a corner, that was all the explanation needed, “Makes sense.”

Rhodey shook his head, “Tony fucking Stark, Man. He's just too much sometimes.”

“Must be real fun living with him.” Steve muttered as they started walking together.

“He like never sleeps, so there's always constant noise. When he's _around_ anyway, which hasn't been much lately.” He mumbled, almost more to himself as they passed down the hall.

“Is he seeing someone? Exclusively, I mean. Does he do that?” Steve asked, trying to sound casual with the question. Rhodey glanced over at him with a sigh, recognizing another person lost in the Tony wave.

“Uh, not really. Steve..he's a handful..I don't know if he's the best person to get with.” He tried to say it as delicately as possible, “He's too wild.”

He glanced over, seeing the muddled look on his face, “I just think being in a relationship with him would be like becoming a parent. I mean, just being his friend makes me a babysitter.”

“I was only asking.” Steve shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets defensively, “And if you don't want to babysit him, then just don't. You aren't obligated.”

Rhodey sighed, trying not to roll his eyes, “Just had this conversation with _him_. Hey, you try living him without feeling like you need to take care of him. The idiot thinks he can just go around...”

His voice trailed off as they went down the stairs two at a time the way boys do. He couldn't exactly talk about the shit Tony got himself into with Steve, that would definitely be the end of his crush. Poor Steve, just another person to get sucked into Tony's personality. It was amazing how few people could see the charade for what it was, how manipulative Tony was.

“Maybe you would be good for him,” Rhodey shrugged, glancing over at Steve, “ground him a little. He could do with a little of that.”

“Oh, you're for it now?” Steve smirked, bumping Rhodey's shoulder with his own, “I was just asking, I'm not looking for something.”

“Well, why not? I actually do think you'd be good for him. And he's always hanging off you.”

“He hangs off everybody,” Steve rolled his eyes, thinking about the way Tony would drape himself over his lap. He understood Rhodey's need to protect him, Steve felt it too. Tony didn't take care of himself, he was too wild but so vulnerable and sometimes he seemed so small, “You think so?”

“What do I think?”

“Do you think it could work? You think he could do the one person thing?”

Rhodey shrugged, already conspiring about how to get them together. Someone like Steve was a _much_ better match than a professor twice his age and there was a chance he actually could change Tony, “I think you should give it a try.”

 

 

Bruce looked up at the sound of the door being opened and then shut again. A few short steps and Tony came into sight, smiling the way he did when he was about to do something bad. Bruce sat straighter in his chair, letting his pen relax in his hand as Tony walked in and closed the office door behind him, “Hey.”

“You've got that _look_.” Bruce answered, narrowing his eyes as he rested his elbow on the desk.

“What look?”

“The look you get when you aren't where you're suppose to be.” Tony smirked back at Bruce as he spoke, “Very mischievous. Where _are_ you suppose to be right now, Tony?”

Tony shrugged, smiling as he sauntered forward, coming to sit on the edge of Bruce's desk. Bruce backed up in his chair as Tony slid himself between Bruce's legs, “ _I_ think I'm right where I should be.”

“Mhm.” Bruce nodded skeptically. He glanced over Tony's shoulder at the door and slid his hands up Tony's thighs. Tony hummed as the hands on his legs slid up to his hips, Bruce rolling his chair forward to be closer, “I'm guessing detention, right? You're just going to get in more trouble.”

Tony made a noise and rolled his eyes as he slipped from the desk top onto Bruce's lap, curling his fingers behind Bruce's head,“It's worth it.” He purred as he leaned forward, dipping his head to press his lips to Bruce's own. Bruce always began a kiss by sucking in all his breath, like he was trying to steal all of Tony's oxygen. His hands pulled at the small of Tony's back, pressing him closer as he leaned forward himself. Tony rolled his hips down against Bruce's groin, closing his eyes with a pleasant hum.

“Is someone going to come looking for you?” Bruce asked, turning his head away so Tony could kiss his jaw. Tony just shook his head and nudged Bruce's chin so he could kiss down his neck, “Yeah, I bet. There's always an authority figure chasing after you.”

“Oh, yeah,” Tony nodded, rolling his ass down again, “you older men are always chasing my-”

“ _Tony_.” He sighed, trying not to smirk as Tony let his head roll back on his shoulders. Tony let out a little whine as he bent back, making Bruce grip harder on his hips to hold him up. Bruce let his eyes close, thrusting up against the teenager as he let his own head roll back. His cock was so hard, aching in his pants as Tony folded against him, “I..should really...”

“You should take off your pants,” Tony grinned wickedly as he slid from Bruce's lap down to the floor, coming to sit back on his knees. Nimble fingers easily working his zipper open, making Bruce shift in his seat.

“Tony..” Bruce tried to scold but it came out more as a whine as Tony slipped his hand down the front of his pants.

Tony pouted, looking up at Bruce with big blue eyes. He nuzzled his face against Bruce's thigh, practically mewing as he pulled the pants down far enough to release his cock. Tony grinned, making an appreciative noise at the sight of Bruce's hard member. Bruce looked down to watch Tony lean forward and slide his tongue down the shaft, making him shiver. His mouth fell open as Tony's eyes darted up to see his expression as he took all of Bruce's cock into his mouth in one swift motion. A moan escaped Bruce's lips before he had time to know it was happening.

Tony was too good at this, he was going to make Bruce come before he even had a chance to enjoy it. He reached down, running his hands through Tony's dark hair before he grabbed a handful and pulled Tony's head forward. Tony hummed around him, making him squirm in the chair, “God, slow down.”

Tony pulled his face away to lick a streak up the base of Bruce's cock. He looked up from his spot on the floor with a smile, “Too much for you?”

Bruce smirked, pulling Tony's face back to his groin, the teenager taking his dick eagerly back between his lips. Bruce let out a sigh of content as his eyes closed, letting himself enjoy the warmth of Tony's mouth. His hips twitched up at the same moment he heard a knocking on the door. Bruce's eyes grew twice in size as he heard the voice of Grace Olbert.

“Bruce, are you still here?”

It was as if this woman _always_ knew when they were trying to have a private moment and had made it her goal to ruin it. She stepped in, poking her head around the door, Bruce pulling Tony's face away from his lap with a death grip on his floppy hair. He couldn't believe Tony hadn't locked the door before he came in.

“Sorry Bruce, I know you're busy,” She said apologetically as she leaned in the doorframe, “have you seen the Stark boy anywhere?”

Bruce shook his head, his eyes wild as he fought with Tony under the desk. Tony was trying desperately to resume his fun, pulling against Bruce's hand, reaching out with his tongue and making Bruce jump, “You're always after him, aren't you, Grace?” Bruce said, trying to sound casual.

She nodded with an annoyed look on her face, “You have no idea the trouble that boy gets himself into.”

“I can imagine.” Bruce answered, nodding as he yanked Tony's hair. He was quite sure she couldn't see Tony behind the desk, but he was worried about her hearing. She started to talk about other faculty members and unfortunately Bruce loosened his hold just enough that Tony could lean forward and reclaim his game. Bruce gasped as Tony hollowed his cheeks and sucked around his still hard cock, he tried to mask it with a cough that sounded _so_ fake. He squirmed as Tony grabbed his thighs, twisting his neck to suck from a different angle.

He hated Tony right now, hated everything about him, especially his nasty mouth. Grace Olbert seemed oblivious to the uncomfortable look on Bruce's face while she talked. He tried to push Tony away..but he had already recreated the rhythm of before, up and down his lips went, sliding over the sensitive skin. It was almost painful, trying to keep his composure while Tony went to town on his dick. After what felt like forever, Grace excused herself, grumbling about the Stark kid as she left. Bruce let out a small cry of anger, pushing himself away from the desk so he could glare down at the boy.

“What the hell!” He hissed, Tony looking up at him with hungry eyes, “Are you trying to get us caught?”

Tony whined and tried to crawl closer but Bruce pushed him back with his foot, “You can't just-”

“You liked it.” Tony answered, making a face at him, “You liked having me on your cock with that bitch so close. It felt bad and you liked that.”

Tony looked up at him, his blue eyes daring him to say otherwise. He looked so determined, like he had just answered an equation in class.

“You're exasperating!” Bruce leaned forward, grabbing each side of Tony's face with his hands and pulling him back to his lap. Tony complied easily, grabbing Bruce's cock and sucking the head, making him jump with the direct contact with the sensitive area. Tony swallowed his entire length like he was purposely trying to choke himself, Bruce's fingers wrapping around the back of his neck, pulling him as close as possible. He felt like he might be pulling too hard but if he were Tony made no signs to stop.

He closed his eyes, leaning back against the chair, his head tilting back and his mouth going slack as he felt the heat in his stomach rise, “Tony..”

Tony sucked like he was being timed, keeping the same fast rhythm the entire time. Bruce moaned, thrusting up to meet Tony's mouth, yanking Tony forward, forcing him down on his cock for the last couple of thrusts as he came. Tony tried to suck Bruce's head as he swallowed down his cum but Bruce pushed his face away with a whine. He licked his lips as he leaned back on his heels, looking up at Bruce as if for approval.

Bruce reached out a blind hand to touch Tony's hair as he came down. He hadn't even noticed Tony zipping him back up in his pants and sliding out from under the desk. He leaned forward, pulling Tony up so he could kiss him, tasting his own cum on the boy's lips.

“You're terrible.”

Tony smirked, pushing himself up from the floor, “Not at _that_.”

Bruce chuckled, nodding as he leaned back in his chair, “Too good at _that_.”

Tony smiled to himself as he sat back on top of the desk, “Too good, huh?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long I took to update and I'm sorry it isn't longer. Thanks to those of you who put up with the procrastinating writer! 
> 
> Shit hits the fan in the next chapter, for those of you still interested :P


	17. Aware of the Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time, right?

  Bruce tried to hide his smile as he heard Tony before he saw him, even in a crowd of students Tony stood out. The teachers stood by their doors with their arms crossed as the students piled out of the classrooms. Tony shot Bruce a small glance but continued on by, returning to his conversation with his group. Bruce turned his head, turning his attention to the other students, making sure no one was defacing anything. Suddenly, Tony pivoted, leaving his friends to come  
back toward Bruce. Bruce turned his head as he saw the figure in the  
corner of his eye, he pulled his lips in to hide his smile.  
  "I had a question, Mr. Banner." Tony said, crossing his arms over  
his chest as he smiled up at the teacher.  
   "Yes, Mister Stark?"  
Tony's eyes sparkled and his grin turned wicked as he tilted his  
head, "Am I ever going to hear that virginity story?"  
"Go to class, Tony." Bruce answered, smirking as he looked down the  
opposite hall.  
  "I just want to be informed, in case it comes up on any exams," Tony  
shrugged, "Oral exam for examp-"  
   "Alright, go on." Bruce sighed, shaking his head as he turned away,  
shuffling back into the safety of his classroom. He sighed when he heard footsteps following him, “I said-”

“May I have a word, Bruce?” Came a different voice entirely.

He turned to see Natasha Romanov entering the room, she shut the door behind her and crossed her arms over her chest. She always seemed to have a disapproving look on her face, but today it was more prominent.

   “We need to talk about something,” She said, leaning back against the door, “there have been some rumors going around.”

Bruce sucked in his breath, feeling his heart jump up into his throat as the language professor stared back at him. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, “Rumors?”

She nodded, uncrossing her arms to place her hands on her hips, “Rumors about you, Bruce. People are talking about you paying too much attention to some of your students.”

Bruce frowned, “Too much attention? What is that suppose to mean?”

Natasha shrugged and repeated,“I think someone thinks you've been paying too much attention to someone.”

  “That's ridiculous,” Bruce huffed, unintentionally balling his hands into fists, “I would never-”

“I'm just bringing it to your attention.” She interrupted, her voice stern but calm, “Maybe you should keep your distance so no one gets the wrong idea.”

He crossed his arms over his chest defensively, sighing as the turned away, “This have anything to do with me being the only bisexual staff member here?”

“Oh, I'm sure it does,” Natasha nodded back at him, “that makes it all the more dangerous. Just be careful, it's a pretty powerful accusation. Not one you need hanging around.”

She stared at him for a moment before she turned and opened the door, letting the students pile in as she exited. He tried to pull himself together as the rowdy teenagers bumbled into the room, Natasha's words hanging in the air with all the weight of the world.

 

 

   “Hey, brought pizza.” Rhodey said as he entered, Steve coming in behind with said pizza.

Tony looked up at the mention of food, tossing his book towards the desk and standing to grab a piece, “You know I love you.”

  “Someone has to make sure you eat.”

“Thanks, Mother Hen.” Tony answered, making a face as he took a huge bite, returning to his previous spot.

  “So, Steve watches Game of Thrones too.” Rhodey said, trying to be casual about it.

“Is that so?” Tony raised an eyebrow at his friend over his shoulder. Rhodey was so bad at trying to be subtle, it was so obvious what he'd been trying to do with Steve.

“Thinks Jon's going to end up taking over.” Rhodey nodded with a smile.

Tony whirled around in his chair, eyes narrowed, “What?”

Steve shrugged, “He's the most interesting character.”

Tony blinked back at Steve as if he had grown a second head, “Most interesting character? Rhodey, throw him out immediately.”

Steve laughed as he walked over to sit on Tony's bed, resting the pizza box between them,“Let me guess, you're a mother of dragons bitch?”

  “If you seriously think the endgame is anything other than Daenerys, than you're stupider than I thought.” Tony said in all honesty, sitting up crawling across the bed and snatching the slice of pizza Steve had been reaching for.

“I'm not saying-”

  “No, no, no!” Tony laughed, leaning back and crossing his legs under him again, “There's no negotiating with this. Khaleesi will rule the world and that's that.”

“You would be into her, probably living vicariously.”

   “Maybe I just like blondes.” Tony shrugged with a grin.

Steve chuckled back at Tony's smile, “Thought you liked everyone.”

“And anyone.” Tony nodded sarcastically, rolling his eyes and pulling the pizza box away from Steve's reach, “You don't deserve pizza, asshole.”

“Hey, it was my idea to get pizza. I'm the reason _you_ have any.” Steve grabbed forward, taking the box back from Tony.

  “Hey, children,” Rhodey called over his shoulder, smiling to himself, he knew Tony couldn't help flirting back, “play nice.”

Steve and Tony argued and laughed over the show, disagreeing and cheering. Rhodey feeling quite proud of himself as they flirted with one another. When Steve finally left, Tony glared across the room at his roommate.

“Think you could stop?”

“Stop what?”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the bed, “Cease with the pimping. I didn't ask for a new guy to fuck and if I did I could find one on my own.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes as he stood to cross the room, ignoring Tony's angry glare, “He's into you, if you weren't so wrapped up in old man maybe you'd notice.”--This time it was Tony's turn to roll his eyes—“He's a nice guy, Tony.”

“A nice guy my age, you mean.”

“Yes I do. I happen to think that's the healthy approach.” He retorted, placing his hands on his hips, “As your _friend_ I think it's wrong to let someone take advantage of you.”

“No one's taking advantage of me!” Tony snapped, untucking his legs so his feet were on the ground.

“He's a man twice your age, of course it's taking advantage! You're a child in comparison, that's _wrong_ , Tony. It's wrong for an adult to want to-”

“You're always so judgmental, you don't know a thing about it.”

“What you think you're in love or something?” Rhodey laughed, “You think he's going to leave his wife for you? Wake up, Tony, it's not going to happen. He may be lusting after you now, but he won't be choosing you over the life he's already built.”

 

 

Bruce had been ignoring Melanie's glares as he washed the remaining dishes. They had exchanged cool remarks about each other's day but had kept silent most of the dinner. She kept sighing as she cleaned around the kitchen, bumping into him as she passed by to return something to the fridge.

He let out his own sigh, “Is everything alright?” He asked, rolling his eyes down at the soapy water. He didn't want to ask the question, he didn't want her answer, but he knew his role in this scenario.

“Fine.” She sniffed, her heels clicking as she exited the room, leaving the tension behind for him to muddle through. He craned his neck, making sure she'd left before he let his shoulders sink, letting himself lean over the counter. He didn't know if it was worse to argue or to keep silent, he just knew he couldn't stand whatever it was they were doing. He heard the sound of her heels as she clacked back into the kitchen, he glanced over his shoulder as she came in, placing her hands on her hips.

  “Where were you Tuesday night?” She demanded, squaring her shoulders as she glared across the room at him.

He raised eyebrow, rising the soap from his hands, “I told you I had to work late.”

“Doing what?”

He grabbed the blue towel that was lying on the counter to dry off his hands as he turned to face her, “Grading, I gave them midterms two weeks ago.”

   “You said you already graded those.”

He shrugged, still drying his hands, “Not all of them.”

Mel pursed her lips with a quick nod, “Tell me what you were really doing.”

He frowned like he was confused, “What do you think I was doing?”  
“I think you've been lying.” She snapped back, starting to pace, “I think you've been lying for a long time.”

“Mel.” He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, still hanging onto the towel.

  “Are you sleeping with someone else?”

“God,” He rolled his eyes and turned away, tossing the towel back on the counter, grabbing plates to put away, “You think I'm having an affair?”

  “What else am I suppose to think? You've been so-”

 “Busy? Trying to make a living? Is that what you were going to say?”

“You've been a total flake and so secretive,” She replied, stomping over and taking the plates from him, rearranging the order, “You're never here, you come home at ridiculous hours and you leave-”

“Do you want me with you every second of the day or something?” He answered, letting her have the dishes, “I'm sorry I need my space.”

  “Are you going to need this sort of _space_ when we're married?” She demanded, slamming the cupboard shut before whirling around to stare at him.

He crossed his arms over his chest again, defensively hugging himself as he glanced down at the floor. She made a noise that made him raise his eyes back up, “Do you even want to get married?”

The words hung before him, daring him to say anything other than the appropriate _Yes_. He sighed and raked a hand through his dark hair, it was getting too long and was really getting too curly, he knew he should have cut it weeks ago, “No. I don't.”

The argument didn't take as long as he had expected, she yelled and threw things for a while and he let her, knowing he should have ended this differently. When she'd finally calmed down enough, he started packing up his things. He packed clothes while she glared at him, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him.

  “Who is it?” She asked, leaning against the doorframe as he zipped up his bag.

“What?”

  “Who have you been seeing? Don't try to deny it.” She snapped when he tried to object, “At least tell me if it was a woman or a man.”

He let out a defeated sigh, “He-”

  “Of course,” She nodded, “I guess that's what I get for being with someone who doesn't know what they want.”

 He didn't answer, only turned to resume his task. She tried to get him to tell her who, where and when, but when he wouldn't answer she gave up and went back downstairs. She hadn't cried at all and he wondered if she would. He left without any goodbye, knowing he'd have to return for the rest of his things eventually. He ended up on Johnny's doorstep, looking up at his friend and asking for a place to stay.

 

 

Tony pulled the car door open and slid into the passenger seat, looking over at the blank look on Bruce's face, “Everything alright?”

The older man sighed as he turned the wheel, “I left Mel.”

Tony's eyes widened and he leaned back in the seat, “Not because of me? Right?”

“It was over before you, Tony.” Bruce answered, keeping his eyes on the road, “You just made me aware of the situation.”

Tony sunk lower against the seat, unsure what to say. He didn't know how he was suppose to act. They drove to the next city so they could walk around without being recognized. Once they got out and started down the sidewalk, Tony reached forward to grab Bruce's hand, feeling like a child trying to keep up with an angry parent. Bruce looked back at the sudden grasp of Tony's hand and smiled slightly, “I'm sorry, I know I'm..”

“It's okay, I get it.” Tony shrugged, shoving his other hand in his pocket to keep warm.

“I just didn't know this was happening today.” Bruce sighed, glancing out at the cars passing by, “Do you want coffee or anything?”

“I'm okay. What happened?”

Bruce ran a hand through his curly hair as he let out another sigh, “She confronted me about having an affair.”

Tony made a face, “Uh oh.”

“She probably thinks I was seeing another teacher.” He chuckled wryly, “Are you sure you don't want anything?”

“If you want to stop somewhere, let's stop somewhere.” Tony shook his head, letting Bruce pull him into a cafe, “So where are you staying?”

“At a friend's for now,” Bruce answered as they walked up to the girl taking orders. She smiled and batted her eyelashes at Tony, “The one you met that time. Two lattes, please.”

“The one that called me a prime slice or something? Quality meat, something poultry related.”

“Yeah, he's an idiot.”

“I've been called worse.” He glanced at the girl who kept grinning at him as she made the drinks. He rolled his eyes as Bruce chuckled.

“Someone's got their eye on you.”

“Always,” He nodded over at her which earned a giggle and a blush from the girl. When he received his drink, her number was written on the side of the warm cup. He laughed and swapped his with Bruce's drink. They went back outside, Tony sliding his hand back into Bruce's as they continued to walk down the block of shops.

“Think I should call her?” Bruce asked, pulling Tony along when he dragged his feet.

“Hey, you're a free man now.” Tony shrugged with a smirk, “She'd probably be more okay with our relationship.”

“Mm,” Bruce nodded, glancing down at the teenager sipping at his drink, “why couldn't you be ten years older?”

Tony looked up, the words hurting a little. Bruce obviously still saw him as a child. He looked down at his feet, “Sorry, can't really change that.”

“It's not going to change either.” Bruce sighed, letting go of Tony's hand to zip up his coat. Tony looked up at him with a frown.

  “Tell me if I'm wrong, but this kind of sounds like a breakup conversation. You going two for two today?”

Bruce looked back with a shocked expression, “No, I was just..No, Tony. Sorry.” He looped an arm around Tony's shoulders to pull him close, stopping them, “I didn't mean it like that. I was just talking.”

  “Mm,” Tony raised an eyebrow up at him, “let me know if you're going to break my heart, okay?”

“It'd break your heart?” Bruce asked, looking down as he hugged Tony close. Tony looked a little embarrassed as he realized what he'd said, he looked down before he leaned up to kiss the older man.

   “I mean, it'd bum me out..a little.” Tony grinned earning a small chuckle from the other. Tony's vision shifted as he saw a figure walking toward them. His eyes widened and he pulled away from Bruce's embrace as he watched his father advance their way, his eyes locked on Tony's face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My usual apologies for the update coming so late (guess you're adjusted to it if you've lasted this long). It's been hard to get in time to write with school and Tumblr....Anyone else have that problem..? But we're getting to the good angsty stuff so maybe these next chapters will come quicker. Comments keep me motivated. Thanks for sticking with me, guys. 
> 
> Everyone else enjoy the new Captain America movie as much as I did?! And can we talk about how many Tony Stark references there were :P I've seen it twice so far (once with the Significant Otter, second with the girls to giggle over his butt).


	18. Forget This Ever Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the graphic nature of today's episode, reader discretion is advised. Seriously, this chapter's pretty violent, this is my official warning.

Previously: 

_Bruce looked back with a shocked expression, “No, I was just..No, Tony. Sorry.” He looped an arm around Tony's shoulders to pull him close, stopping them, “I didn't mean it like that. I was just talking.”_

_“Mm,” Tony raised an eyebrow up at him, “let me know if you're going to break my heart, okay?”_

_“It'd break your heart?” Bruce asked, looking down as he hugged Tony close. Tony looked a little embarrassed as he realized what he'd said, he looked down before he leaned up to kiss the older man._

_“I mean, it'd bum me out..a little.” Tony grinned earning a small chuckle from the other. Tony's vision shifted as he saw a figure walking toward them. His eyes widened and he pulled away from Bruce's embrace as he watched his father advance their way, his eyes locked on Tony's face._

 

 Bruce frowned at the panicked look on Tony's face, the way he backed away, his arms crossing over his chest defensively.

“What? Are you okay?” He asked, reaching out a hand to touch Tony's arm.

“Um, I need to..” He flinched away, shifting skittishly as his words trailed off.

   Bruce turned as he saw a figure pass through his peripheral vision, he knew who the man was immediately. If Howard Stark's face hadn't been on hundreds of magazines, he still would've known from the terrified look on Tony's face. The relation was obvious, their facial structures were so similar Tony was probably an exact copy of Howard when he was younger.

He didn't say anything, just came around Bruce and grabbed Tony's arm, turning sharply to drag him away.

 “Dad, it's not-”

“Be quiet.” Howard snapped, his grip tightening on Tony's arm. Another man exited the dark car Howard had come from, “I said no more of this.”

Tony twisted his neck to look helplessly back at Bruce, “I'm sorry.” He mouthed, his eyes glassy as he was yanked away.

“Hey,” Bruce tried, it was happening so fast and he didn't know what he should do, “Hey! Be easy with him.”

Howard shoved Tony into the arms of the other man and turned back to face Bruce, walking back so he could speak, “How old are you?” Bruce blinked, taken aback by how intimidating this man was in person, “He seems to have a type, old but not too old. Do you know how old he is?”

Bruce nodded, his eyebrows knitting together as he saw Tony disappear into the dark car.

  Howard looked him up and down as he pulled out a cigarette case, “A teacher, I assume? He sticks to that pattern, something about authority figures..” As he placed a cigarette between his lips, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk, “Yes, pattern. You're certainly not the first older man for Anthony. His therapist says he has some unresolved parental issues, so you see, you shouldn't expect anything from this. You're just a brick in a wall he's trying to build against me.”

  Bruce didn't know what to say in return, he didn't have words for this man. So he listened, watching him light his cigarette as he talked about his son, “Now, as I'm sure you're aware of who I am, I probably don't have to remind you what I can do to your life, but I like to cover all my bases. You're going to forget this ever happened, you're going to forget you ever met him. Or I will make sure your life isn't worth living. Aren't high school teacher suicides pretty high anyway?"

 

 

“Dad-”

“You'll just make it worse, Tony.” Obadiah warned as they exited the stretch car, Howard grabbing Tony's arm and dragging him up to the house.

“Dad, it's not what you think.” He continued as his father pulled him down the hall.

  “What is it that I think, Anthony?” Howard murmured, his grip tightening on Tony's arm as they passed by Jarvis who looked on with concern as Howard yanked Tony into one of the bathrooms. He looked back at Tony with a questioning expression as he turned on the water in the shower, “No? No answer?”

He grabbed Tony by his hair and shoved him into the cold water, “Dad!”

“I think you're a slut,” He answered, holding Tony against the porcelain wall, water spraying onto him in the process, “I think you're a selfish little slut who needs a cool down.”

“Dad, stop!” Tony sputtered as the icy water hit his face, Howard's grip on his hair tightened when he tried to shift away.

“I said I didn't care,” He growled, yanking Tony's head back so that the high water pressure stung his eyes, “I said you could whore yourself all you wanted as long as the dicks you were sucking were your own age. Why is that such a hard rule for you to follow?”

“I wasn't-”

Tony's words were cut off by the sharp slap he received, knocking him back against the tiled wall. The hit felt more extreme on his wet skin, his cheek already pink.

“Don't lie to me,” Howard sighed, looking so put out as he turned the ring on his hand so the head was facing the inside. He slapped Tony again, his ring dragging across Tony's cheekbone, “You've never been good at it and it's so unattractive.”

Tony tried to back away but Howard grabbed him by the front of his shirt, holding him still as he threw a punch to his face. The blow sent Tony backwards, hitting his forehead on the wall as he slid down.

  “Tell me, Anthony,” His father began, leaning against the glass frame of the shower, Obadiah looking on with his arms crossed disapprovingly across his chest, “Is it simply an impulse of yours or are you deliberately trying to anger me?”

“Dad..I..” Tony whimpered, earning a disgusted look from Howard who swung his leg back, making contact with Tony's chest.

“Howard.” Obadiah sighed.

  “Was it worth it? Do you still think that was a good decision?” He growled as he aimed another kick, this time hitting Tony square in the stomach. Tony cried out and crawled away, water had soaked through all his clothes by now, “And what about the man attached to this cock you can't get enough of, was it worth ruining his life? Now that you've let him molest you, he can't have any sort of career.”

“It wasn't like that!” Tony insisted, trying to scoot away when his father grabbed his ankle and yanked him closer. His head smacked against the floor as he slid across the tiles, Howard pulled him from the shower, leaning down so their faces were inches apart.

   “Tell me what it was then.” He dared as he grabbed chin, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at his son, “Tell me you think it's a real relationship. The only reason people give you a second glance is because you have my name attached to you. He probably wanted to fuck you so it'd create a scandal and he'd get something out of it.”

“He's not like that.” Tony replied, bracing himself as Howard stood and swung another kick into his ribs.

“Don't contradict me.” He hissed, the toe of his shoe making a thud as it made contact with Tony's stomach, Tony crying out as his father continued to kick, “And don't you ever disobey me again.”

   When a kick landed against Tony's cheek and forced a particularly unpleasant noise from him, Obadiah uncrossed his arms and cleared his throat, “Howard, don't you think that's enough? You don't want to break the boy.” He stepped between them, kneeling down to look at Tony, “I think he's learned his lesson, don't you?”

Howard looked down at his son, disgust plain on his face as he straightened the cuffs on his shirt, “Don't think you're going back there.” He said flatly as he exited the bathroom, walking like nothing had happened to phase him.

Tony stared at the door, unaware of how much he was shaking as he pushed himself up. His breathing started to hitch in his throat, his chest aching.

“Take it easy,” Obadiah said, lifting Tony's chin to examine his face. He'd been present Tony's entire life and he'd been around to see most of the beatings he'd received from his father, “You really got him riled up this time.”

“You have to talk to him.” Tony insisted, his eyes wild as he grabbed Obadiah's arm, “It's not Bruce's fault, he didn't even want to, he'll lose his job, it's not his fault!”

“Whoa, try to calm down, Kiddo.” He answered as Tony shifted, wincing at the movement. He lifted Tony's arms to see the damage, “I don't know if there's anything you can do. He's got his mind made up about this. Take off the wet shirt, you're completely soaked.”

Tony tried to calm his breathing, afraid he'd start hyperventilating if he didn't, “You have to talk to him. He'll listen to you. It's not Bruce's fault, he doesn't deserve that.”

“So his name's Bruce, huh?” Obadiah asked, helping Tony to his feet, “Looks like he got you pretty good in the stomach, you'll want to have Jarvis look at that. Sure to bruise.”

“I've ruined his life,” Tony choked, staring down at his feet as the older man examined him.

“You don't know.”

“ _Please_ say something to him.” Tony begged, looking back up at the family friend, “Please, Ob. I don't want him to lose his job over me. He didn't even want this, I had to talk him into it.”

“Oh I find that hard to believe,” He chuckled, turning away to wet a wash cloth, “How long have you been chasing after older men anyway? He was yelling about multiple teachers, is that why you got expelled?” Tony nodded as Obadiah cleaned his bloody lip, “Well, I never would have guessed little Tony Stark liked that sort of thing. I guess I could try to talk to Howard.”

Tony sucked in his breath, which resulted in a painful stab in his ribs, “Please, please I just-”

  “And maybe in return you could show me what you do for your teacher.” He continued, his voice cool as if he'd just proposed a business deal with a client. It took Tony's brain a moment to comprehend, unable to believe what he'd heard from this lifelong family friend. His stomach dropped as he looked up at Obadiah's expectant face, he was giving Tony the choice, he wasn't forcing him just giving him an option.

   His mind raced back to his childhood, Obadiah present like an uncle, teaching him things and helping him through troubles, now asking him to be something else. Tony swallowed, trying to wrap his head around the situation, willing his normal genius to help him out somehow. But he didn't feel like a genius, he felt like a child. He finally felt his age he lowered himself down onto his knees.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that wasn't fun to write. I hated it as much as you did, I apologize.


	19. I'll Fix It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

Tony tried to slow his breathing as he listened to the phone ring again and again, blood still dripping from his nose. He'd called the number over and over, desperate to speak with Bruce, to explain, to apologize. He gasped when Bruce answered, the sudden contact throwing him.  
“Tony-”  
“Bruce, please, please just let me-”  
“Tony I can't do this, stop calling.”  
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just let me..” His voice started to pitch as tears started to fill his eyes again, “I'm sorry, Bruce. I'm so sorry.”  
He heard Bruce sigh, “Tony...this is all my fault, I should've never let it get this far.” He made a noise when Tony let out a choked sob, “Tony..”  
Tony pursed his lips, trying to control his face, “I'm sorry I didn't mean to let..I'll fix it, I promise.”  
“You can't, Tony. Your father-”  
“I'll fix it!”He insisted, cradling the phone in his hands. He wanted to tell him, blurt it out so someone else knew.  
Bruce sighed again, “I can't do this right now. I'm sorry.”  
“Bruce, please-”  
“Please don't call again, Tony.” He sighed, sounding so defeated, “I'm sorry, but I just can't. We shouldn't even—this never should have happened.”  
Tony let his head fall back against the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest, “I'm sorry.”He hated how his voice broke into a plea as he realized Bruce wasn't going to save him. It finally dawned on him that that's what he'd been searching for all a long, an older man to protect him from this life.

 

Jarvis glanced at Tony's face before he turned back to the first-aid kit, his blank stare gazing out at the floor. Tony did usually get quiet after a fight with his father, but tonight his eyes were dead. He frowned and lifted Tony's chin so he could look at his pupils.  
“I don't have a concussion.” Tony answered Jarvis' silent question, reaching up to wipe at the dried blood under his nose.  
“Mm, no sleeping, just to make sure.” He said softly, instructing Tony to lift his arm so he could look at his ribs, frowning at the way he winced, “Tomorrow will be different. He might have moved onto something else by then.”  
“Mhm,” Tony nodded. He was only vaguely aware of what Jarvis was saying as he patched him up, he couldn't get his mind away from Obadiah. He kept thinking about when he was little, the way Obadiah would carry him on his shoulders and sneak him snacks when he was in trouble. He kept thinking about how he tugged on Tony's hair and moaned...  
He winced when Jarvis touched his stomach, “My apologies.”  
Tony looked down at what was going to become a nasty bruise, “Did you hear?”  
Jarvis' face didn't change but there was a pause before he answered, “I heard enough.”  
Tony lowered his eyes, pulling away from Jarvis' hands, “He was so...I thought he was going to kill me.”  
“Tomorrow will be different.” He poured a couple of pills into Tony's hand, some for pain and some for swelling, “Probably best to stay out of his way, though.”

 

 

“Jesus, Bruce.”  
“I know!” Bruce sighed, raking a hand through his dark hair. He kept shaking his head as he paced around the living room, “I'm going to lose my job. I'll never be able to-”  
“You don't know, he might have just been threatening in the heat of the moment.” Johnny replied, his foot twitching anxiously as he leaned back against his chair.  
“It's Howard Stark!” Bruce scoffed, “Howard Stark caught me kissing is teenage son!”  
Johnny grimaced, “God, when you say it out loud.”  
“It sounds disgusting!”  
“Calm down. He isn't going to want anyone to know about this. If he called your boss he'd have to explain why he wanted you fired.”  
Bruce frowned over at his friend. He didn't understand how Johnny could be so sympathetic, he wasn't judging at all, he was even counseling Bruce on the matter. He sighed and slumped down into the chair opposite Johnny.  
“I don't know what I'm suppose to do now.”  
Johnny shrugged, “Never been in this position before, Man. You might never see the kid again anyway.”  
This was true, he realized, Howard might pull him right out of the school. That could be the last time he saw Tony, as he stood there watching uselessly as Tony was dragged away.

 

 

The next day Tony followed Jarvis' advice, keeping to himself up in his room. Half of his reasoning was to keep away from is father and the other half was to keep away from Obe. He'd been hanging around the house and it made Tony feel trapped. He thought about calling someone, just to talk, but then he realized he'd have to actually say something. He didn't think he could manage his usual mask right now.  
A light knock on his door forced him out of his thoughts. He tensed as Obadiah entered the room with his businessman's smile.  
“Hey Kiddo.”  
Tony shifted so he was sitting up.  
“Your Dad's still pretty upset,” He said calmly, glancing over at a shelf and taking a moment to pick up an award, “I'd expect these to be dusty, with how little you get to be home. But Jarvis does a good job with the upkeep.”  
Tony nodded, tucking his legs under him as the older man moved closer, “Uh, yeah. Way to go, cleanliness. Did you talk to him?”  
“I said I would,” Obadiah nodded, examining an abandoned robot project on his desk, “I dunno, Kiddo. He's pretty hell bent on seeing this guy miserable.”  
Tony sucked in his breath, “He doesn't deserve that. It's not like he's going to be broadcasting it.”  
Obadiah shrugged as he stopped in front of Tony, crossing his arms as he looked down at the teenager, “I think he sees it like someone taking one of his race horses out for a ride without asking permission.”---Tony looked away at the reference--- “I'm not sure there's anything I can say to him, Kiddo. Is there anything you think would help?”  
Tony had to fight to keep his lip from trembling as he uncrossed his legs and scooted closer to the edge of the bed. He took in a deep breath as he reached forward for Obadiah's belt buckle. The older man glanced back at the door then back down at the teenager.  
“I don't know, Tony, that might not be enough.” He said softly, reaching out a hand to touch Tony's hair. Tony looked up, eyes wide and pleading as Obadiah shook his head, acting like they were trying to figure out some sort of puzzle.  
Tony's heart thumped in his throat as he stared down at the floor, he wanted to cry but he knew he couldn't. He bit down on his lower lip to keep it from trembling as he slid back up into the center of the bed. The mattress shifted when the older man kneeled down, speaking calmly while he removed their clothes. Tony turned his head away as Obadiah leaned down to kiss his neck, focusing his gaze out at his desk.  
“Does the silver fox fixation have anything to do with Daddy, Tony?” Obadiah whispered, taking Tony's chin in hand so he could kiss his mouth, “Is he the one you want to get fucked by?”  
Tony breathed deeply, trying to keep calm as he let his eyes glaze over, trying to remove himself from the situation.  
“Do you get off when he hits you? Beat off after he beats you?” He asked, lips so close to his ear as his hands roamed over his body, “That's pretty sick, Kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I didn't realize how short this was until just now...  
> I totally meant to post this yesterday (I wanted it to be a birthday present to you guys) but I got caught up in the birthday laundry :P You can tell you're getting old when you do laundry instead of party on your birthday. 
> 
> Also, I'm going to try to get back into doing some artwork for fics. If anyone's interested in any of that I'll be posting to my tumblr http://undertheblu.tumblr.com/
> 
> I'm really sorry this isn't longer, the unhappy stuff isn't as fun to write. I also apologize for future chapters, it's going to be pretty unhappy from here on out. The Bruce/Tony relationship is pretty much at it's end, so time to board the Steve/Tony ship because that's where this is going. Hope you Bruce fans are still willing to read.


	20. Notice the Difference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage Tony Stark finds his new teacher Bruce Banner more interesting than he probably should. Bruce does his best to be the responsible adult, but he discovers a stubborn Stark can be quite hard to resist. While trying to hide their taboo relationship they expose themselves to secrets they weren’t even aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, Comrades.

 

Tony woke to Jarvis pulling open his shades, letting light into the dark room, “Good morning.”

Tony groaned and rolled away, his face scrunching up from the sudden exposure to the light.

“There will be a slight rain today,” Jarvis started picking things up around the room as Tony pulled the covers back over his head,“Your father says you can return to school.”

Tony sighed, thinking about how Obadiah had done what he'd said he would in speaking to his father. At least it hadn't been a waste of his time.

“That is if you're still feeling up to it.” Jarvis continued, glancing over at the huddle that was the teenager, “He's made no mention of the teacher in question.”

Tony sighed, pulling himself upright, letting the blanket fall from his shoulders, “Probably doesn't even care anymore.”

Jarvis looked over at Tony's mopey expression, “Well isn't that better?”

Tony shrugged with a little nod, crossing his legs under him, “I guess you're right.”

“Go back and try to stay out of trouble. You'll be away at college before you know it, it'll be different for you then.”

“Everyone always says that, “Tony nodded, watching Jarvis clean unnecessarily, “like I don't belong anywhere else. Hope everyone's right.”

 

 

“Hey,” Rhodey said, shaking Tony's shoulder, “time to wake up. You're going to miss class if you don't get up.”

“Mmm.”

He frowned at the huddle on Tony's bed, he'd been sleeping since he came back to school but now that the weekend was over he actually had to move, “Are you sick or something?”

“No.”

Rhodey crossed his arms over his chest, getting annoyed, “Then get up. Get over whatever you're hung up on and go to class. Maybe it'll be a distraction or whatever.”

Tony made a noise and sat up, the blanket falling down to reveal his tired face, “Fine.”

Rhodey was actually a little shocked that it hadn't been harder to get him up, “Well, good. About time.”

Tony rolled his eyes at the look of pride on Rhodey's face, of course he was satisfied with this little victory, congratulating himself for making sure Tony stayed on schedule. Tony sighed as he stood, immediately regretting the decision. He wondered if he should get drunk before class, maybe get drunk instead of class. Rhodey looked back over at him, like the babysitter he was, making sure Tony wasn't about to get back into bed.

“I'm up, I'm up.” Tony mumbled, kneeling down to reach under his bed for a forgotten bottle of gin.

“Seriously? Okay, what's your deal?”

“My deal is that it's far too early for this shit.” Tony sighed, taking a swig from the bottle before he pulled a hoodie over his head, taking drinks in between searching for his shoes, “Not like anyone will notice the difference.”

“Yeah, can't be your charming self without some shots right?” Rhodey muttered, shrugging his bag onto his shoulder and grabbing his keys, Tony following out the door.

Rhodey glanced over at him as they tramped down the hall, “Is everything okay with you?”

“You've asked enough times, you've proven your merit as a friend.” Tony mumbled sarcastically as they rounded on the stairs.

“It's not like you're hiding it, what's going on? Something happen with..Mr. Banner?”

“Mhm, feel free to gloat.”

Rhodey sighed as they exited the building, Tony wincing at the sudden sunlight, “You know-”

“Or you could not.”

Rhodey nodded, deciding to let it go since Tony wasn't giving the argument his usual force. When they entered the class he couldn't help but look back and forth between Tony and the teacher to see if they'd acknowledge each other or something, but neither looked at the other, actively avoiding any possible eye contact. The rest of class Tony actually looked like he'd fall back asleep right at his desk, he didn't sit close enough to give him a kick or anything, all he could do is scowl. At the end of the class when everyone was piling out of the classroom Bruce asked Tony to hang back, looking reluctant at his own question. Rhodey looked back as he exited, wondering if this was them getting back together.

“Look, I have-”

“I don't think I should be your adviser anymore,” Bruce interrupted, erasing the board with his back turned to Tony, “I'm gonna hand you over to-”

“Hand me over?” Tony repeated, crossing his arms as he frowned at the teacher.

“To Reed Richards, you do well in his class so-”  
“I do well in any class. So you're just going to dump me on someone else? That's reminiscent of home.”

Bruce sighed as he turned back towards the student, he didn't want to get into this with Tony, he wanted to keep it clean and simple but as usual Tony wasn't going to allow that, “I think it's better for both of us.”

“Are you going to transfer me out of your class too?”

Bruce finally looked into his face, saw the anger and hurt there. He frowned at the cut near Tony's eye, thinking about how it got there and how Tony had been dragged away the last time he saw him, “Are you okay?” He asked suddenly, realizing it didn't make sense with the conversation, “Did your father-”

“Ugh, jesus.” Tony rolled his eyes, shifting his bag on his shoulder, “Yeah, act so concerned, Bruce. Act like the caring adult then drop me off with someone else.”

“Hey,” Bruce snapped, glancing at the door where students passed by in the hall, “I _do_ care about you, you should know that by now. I think this is best for us.”

Tony shook his head, “Isn't the whole point that there is no **us**?”

Bruce sighed, crossing his own arms over his chest, “It shouldn't have ever happened.”

Tony rolled his eyes and sucked on his teeth, nodding angrily, “Yeah, because it was such an accident.”

Tony's tone stirred Bruce's anger all over again, “No, just part of your pattern, right? No accident because you've done this before. Multiple times apparently.”

Tony sucked in his breath, “It's not the same.”

“Oh, this time was different somehow?” Bruce asked, his tone getting harsher, “You..you act like everyone's always out to get you but you..you're the one who burns through everything. Leaving bodies behind-”

“It wasn't like that.” Tony hissed, “You have no idea so don't you dare tell me how I act.”

Bruce laughed, “I know you, Tony. I know exactly how you act. You try to play everyone but you're so transparent everyone can see your end game before you've even started. I don't know how many men you've done this to-”

“Done this to?! I didn't **do** anything to them and you know what, how _many_ is none of your business anyway!”

“Made them part of this.. _thing_ you have with your father and it became my business when you made me one of them.”

Tony sneered back at him as he started walking towards the door, “My father has nothing to do with it. And I didn't _make_ you do anything, Asshole. You had no problem climbing on top of me.”

“Tony.” He hissed, glaring at him and then the open door.

“What? Nothing ever happened, right?” Tony snapped, gripping his bag's strap tightly in his fingers, “So nothing for anyone to overhear!”

“Go to class.” Bruce growled, turning his back on the angry teenager as the bell rang through the halls.

 

 

Steve had gotten used to finding Tony in his room, usually he pulled electronics apart or fell asleep on Steve's bed while waiting. But this Saturday morning when Steve woke he looked across the room and saw Tony in his roommates bed. They were both still asleep and both naked, which surprised Steve because they had never gotten along and he really never expected they would. But apparently last night's party had put them together. He figured he could slip out before either of them woke so they wouldn't have to do any explaining but he froze when he saw Tony moving. Tony winced as he sat up, raising a hand to his head, wishing he hadn't had so much to drink.

He glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes at himself for ending up in bed with Tom. _Nice, Tony--_ he thought to himself-- _bottom for a bottom_. He didn't even remember the night before and he couldn't imagine how he'd ended up with this guy. Sighing, he slipped from the bed and began searching for his clothes. He noticed Steve as he was pulling on his pants and felt a little embarrassed for a second. For some reason it bothered him for Steve to see this.

“Good night?” Steve asked quietly, sitting up in his bed.

“Apparently,” Tony shrugged with a smile, looking under the bed for his shirt. He'd spent the last couple weeks in a drunken stupor, ending up in different beds like the slut everyone thought he was. For some reason it bothered him that Steve had caught him at it, even though Steve was very aware of what he'd been doing, everyone was. He suddenly realized he was sober and that bothered him too much, “And apparently I'm going out with out a shirt.” He sighed as he stood, unable to retrieve his.

“Can't find it?” Steve pulled off his covers and stood, going over to his dresser and pulling open a drawer. He pulled out a blue under armor shirt and tossed over to Tony, “It'll be too big on you but that's the smallest I have.”

“Thanks, man.” He answered as he pulled it over his head, chuckling at the size of it on him.

Steve laughed too, “The blue looks good on you at least.”

Tony shrugged, smiling softly before he glanced back over at Steve's roommate. He almost rolled his eyes again, thinking about what other stupid decisions he'd made that night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took almost a month to get another update out of me, you guys are so patient. I graduated last week so I there was a lot of craziness with that and then I had to move all my stuff back home and I've been working on crafts (something I wasn't able to do at school) and I'm finally back with the Significant Otter so he does take up some time :P But I figured it'd been way too long since my last update. 
> 
>  
> 
> Mary/Sleeponrooftops and I had to part ways, now living in two different states, so this means my muse is gone. We still keep in touch everyday and we're actually going to start vlogging together, a project we're calling Long Distance Dialog.
> 
>  
> 
> We're VERY close to the end with this story, I appreciate everyone who's stuck with me :) You guys are so great. The next story I'm posting is another Steve/Tony and it's got another risky plot but hopefully some of you will want to read it. I haven't really developed a summary yet but it's about Tony and Steve growing up together as best friends and Steve falls in love with him. But Tony has a terrible home life and is being molested by his father, we find this out through the new kid Bruce who doesn't do much talking and is also "blessed" with an abusive father. That wasn't a very good summary, sorry I'll have to work on it.


	21. The Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is.

  
“I'm done looking after him.” Rhodey sighed, shaking his head, “I'm done trying to babysit him and keep him out of trouble.”

Steve glanced at Rhodey then back across the room toward Tony, who was getting shitfaced drunk with a different group.

“If he wants to get fucked up and act like a slut, that's his prerogative.” Rhodey huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“When was the last time he was sober?” Steve asked in all seriousness. He watched Tony snort something from one guy's open palm then start making out with another.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Rhodey shrugged.

“What's going on with him? He wasn't acting _this_ bad last semester, right? Did something happen to him?”

He shrugged again, “Relationship stuff, I guess.”

Steve frowned, “He was with someone?”

“Something like that. Now he's just playing slut again, because that seems to be working better for him.”

“He showed up in Tom's bed the other night,” Steve sighed, he couldn't keep his eyes from watching Tony. He wanted to make sure nothing happened to him as he got more and more inebriated, “And those two hate each other.”

“Apparently not that much.” Rhodey scoffed. He made a face as Tony slid in between two guys and let them run their hands over his body. One reached a hand around his neck to slip a pill between his lips. He didn't know what it was, but like a child he wasn't about to say no to whatever candy he was offered. The music got fuzzier and the lights went blurry but he didn't really care because it felt like a wight had been lifted off his chest and now he was floating. He felt himself being moved, hands directing him somewhere.

“I don't think so.” Steve said, striding over and pulling Tony away from the other two.

“What's your problem?”

“He doesn't even know who you are.” He snapped, Tony sinking against him, “You can't just slip someone something and call it consent.”

“He took it willingly, douchebag. It's not like we drugged him.”

“It's not happening.” Steve hissed.

“Why not?” Tony mumbled, leaning his head against Steve's shoulder as he stumbled.

“See!”

Steve scowled back at the sleazebag, “Tony, do you even know where you are?”

Tony shrugged, crying out when Steve suddenly threw him over his shoulder, “Hey!”

Steve turned, ignoring the outbursts from the two he'd stolen Tony from. Tony whined into Steve's back as he carried him down the hall, “Put me down, Shrek.”

“Be quiet.”

He decided to take him back to his own room, knowing he could keep an eye on him that way. He dropped Tony onto the bed, turning to turn the light on when Tony sat up and grabbed his face, pulling him close to kiss him. Steve let it go on for a second before pulling away, removing Tony's hands from his face.

“Go to sleep.”

“Get into bed with me.” Tony whined, pulling on Steve's arm.

“I'm not doing that.”

Tony frowned, “You don't like me?”

Steve sighed as he straightened, “I don't want to have sex while you're drunk.”

Tony shook his head, almost falling backwards on the bed with the motion, “Alcohol is a depressant, didn't have much, makes me sad.”

“Whatever, I'm not going to take advantage of you like that.”

“Why not? Everyone does.”

Steve shook his head, trying not to snap at Tony, knowing it wouldn't even get through to him, “Go to sleep.”

 

 

 

Tony winced as he sat up, eyes widening as the headache hit him. He made an unhappy noise as he let himself drop back down onto the bed. He covered his eyes with the back of his arm, wishing he wasn't so sober. He'd been pretty successful at keeping a continuous buzz by sleeping as little as possible, but this hangover was proof it hadn't worked this time. He looked up at the sudden sound next to his head, Steve putting a bottle of water on the desk next to the bed.

Tony looked around, realizing what room he was in. He sat up on his elbows, squinting over as Steve moved around the room, “Uh, did we...you know?”

Steve glanced over and made a face, “You're still wearing your clothes aren't you?”

Tony looked down and nodded, “So why am I here?”

Steve sighed as he went about packing his bag, “You needed to cool off, so I brought you here and slept on the floor.”

Tony frowned at him, confused as to why anyone would do that and not totally believing the story. Wincing again he sat up, “Well, I don't remember but if you say so.”

Steve glared over at him, “I didn't take advantage of you or anything, I just brought you here so you could sleep.”

Tony shrugged, “It'd be a good time, I don't remember anything.”

Steve made a noise as he frowned disbelievingly over at Tony, “Jesus, you have no self-esteem, you said the same thing last night. Is that something that happens to you?”

Tony rolled his eyes as he slipped from the bed, making a face at the rise in elevation.

“I'm serious, you know that's no okay, right?”

“God..” Tony mumbled as he yanked on a shoe, “Thanks for the babysitting or whatever, but it's too early for this.”

Steve sighed again, remembering how much he hated Tony when they first met, “Whatever.”

Tony stumbled for a moment, eyes wide as he grabbed onto Steve's desk, the wild look on Tony's face made Steve laugh out loud, forgetting his frustration. Tony glared in his direction as he tried lean against the desk while he put on the other shoe.

“Do you really not remember last night?” Steve asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Tony struggle with the simple act.

“That's sort of the point.” Tony answered, glaring down at the unruly shoe, “Not really there to make memories.”

Steve wondered if Tony heard how ridiculous he sounded when he said things like that and wondered what it was that made him like that, “I dunno, a lot of people party to **make** memories.”

Tony raised an eyebrow across the room at the other, “Yeah, cause I'm most people. Listen, I know you don't get it, it's just something I need.”

Steve looked back at Tony, seeing him more vulnerable in those word than he had been the night before. Tony put on such a show, but that show made it all the more obvious how messed up he was, “You know, if you need to talk it out or just need someone to be annoying at, I could stick around long enough for that.”

Tony laughed, then winced at the noise he'd made, “Alright, Stephanie, I'll keep that in mind should I ever forget-”

“I'm serious.” Steve interrupted, knowing Tony wasn't going to let him have any sort of moment.

Tony met his gaze, looking ready to sigh, “What happened to the Steve that hated me? Getting to know me usually just fuels that for friends.” They both chuckled at that, “I don't get any better, Steve. Sort of damaged goods over here and that's not about to change any time soon. So...if you're hoping to get something out of this..”

“Why would you think of yourself as damaged goods? Everyone has baggage, Tony.”

Tony shook his head slightly, already frustrated with the conversation so he straightened and moved toward the door, “Yeah. Well, I've got to go nurse this hangover, thanks for whatever last night was.”

“Aren't you coming to class?” Steve asked, poking his head out the frame as Tony backed out.  
He laughed and shook his head, “Definitely not, gonna go find a dark room and stay there forever.”

 

 

 

“What's going on?”

“Someone on a bad trip or something.”

“Why'd someone turn off the music?” Someone cried out in annoyance. The party had suddenly changed when someone had noticed how long Tony had been out.

“He took it hours ago,” Bucky shrugged, “I thought he was just on a really heavy high.”

“Jesus, he's a different _color_ , how did you not notice?”

“Because he's just as high,” Steve growled, checking for a pulse on Tony, “We need to call someone.”

“You can't,” Someone interrupted, “then we'll all get in trouble.”

Steve through a look over his shoulder at whoever had spoken, “We'll get in a lot _more_ trouble if he dies! Rhodey, get someone! He's barely breathing, his fucking tongue is purple.”

“We'll get busted for possession.”

Steve exploded, “If he dies you'll-”

“This isn't helping!” Rhodey yelled as he dug Tony's phone from his jean pocket, scrolling through the contacts until he found the number he was searching for. His face burned as he heard the voice on the other end, “Mr. Banner? We need your help, it's Tony.”

 

 

Tony woke up in a white room, the sort of off white that all hospital rooms were, he wrinkled his nose at the sterile smell. He looked down at his arm, seeing an IV connecting him to some sort of fluid. He couldn't remember getting here or what had put him in this situation but he felt so tired. He looked around, seeing he was alone and wondering why. He wanted to get up but he knew that wasn't happening. He wanted to know what was going on.

He drifted back to sleep and when he woke again he was surprised to see Bruce there. He squinted up at him, his chest hurting when he tried to sit up, “What happened?”

Bruce's face was a mixture of concern and disapproval, “Heroin overdose, Tony.” He answered simply, his hands tucked in his pockets, hunching his shoulders up, “Your friends called me and I brought you to the emergency room. The had you on some narcotic antagonists, the doctor will be back to talk to you about it.”

Bruce paused to let that sink in before he continued, “I called your father, he should be here soon. This wasn't on purpose or anything, was it?”

Tony sighed, letting his head rest back against the hospital pillow, “No.”

Bruce looked down at the tiled floor, thinking about the last time he'd been in a hospital, “Maybe you didn't mean to overdose, but just getting mixed up in something like that...any chance this whole binge you've been on”—obviously Rhodey had been talking to the teacher-- “was a sort of cry for help?”

“I didn't do this on purpose.” Tony answered, glaring up at Bruce for the point he was trying to make.

“So did someone force the drug on you?” Bruce asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I think the IV in my vein is lecture enough.” He sighed, unable to control the roll of his eyes.

Bruce sighed himself, looking sadly down at the teenager in the bed, “You work so hard making sure no one else hurts you. This isn't how to go about it, Tony. Hurting yourself doesn't fix what other people have done to you. You have to give yourself time to heal.”

Tony stared back at the older man, feeling a strange sense that Bruce _knew_.

They both turned when Steve poked his head in, smiling when he saw Tony's eyes open, “Um, is it okay if I come in?”

Bruce nodded, moving towards the door, “Yeah, I'll be right back. Make sure he stays in that bed.”

He sucked in his breath as he went out into the hall, thinking about how different his life had become since Tony sauntered into his life, how different **he** had become. He faltered for a moment when Howard Stark came into his view, he took a deep breath and continued on towards the other man.

“ _You_ were the one that called me?” Howard asked, looking at Bruce with a look of pure disgust.

Bruce crossed his arms over his chest defensively, “Considering I was the one that brought your son to the ER, yes.”

“I told you to keep away from him-”

“And I've respected that.” He snapped back, “Would it have been better for me to leave him there? He could have died, isn't that more important?” Howard Stark bristled at the words and looked past Bruce as the hospital continued around them, “I've respected your wishes because..I haven't had contact with him, but neither have you. There's something going on with him, this wasn't just some stunt, he's trying to tell you something and you're not listening. And your bad hearing almost cost him his life, it still could. You need to speak with your son, you need to really speak and really listen. That kid is desperate for your attention and-”

“I have to go see to my child now, if you're quite finished.” Howard interrupted, straightening his collar as he passed by Bruce mid-rant. Bruce sighed and shook his head, knowing that was all he was going to get but at least he'd said what he had. It probably wasn't going to make a difference, you couldn't change a person with a few words, but at least he'd said _something_.

In Tony's room Steve crossed his arms and sat in the seat next to Tony's bed, “So, this is...fun.”

Tony chuckled, “Look at you, growing a sense of humor.”

“You scared us, you know.” Steve said softly, “I've never been through something like that.”

Tony attempted a shrug, “I told you: damaged goods.”

Steve smirked, “Yeah well, I'm pretty good at patching things up so..I don't think that's a very good excuse.”

Tony laughed out loud, “Seeing this”--he motioned to himself in the hospital bed-- “doesn't make you think that maybe I'm too big of a mess?”

Steve shrugged back at him with a smile, both of them looking up when Howard entered the room. Steve looked between them and got up without being told to do so, “I'll talk to you later, stay in the bed.”

Tony rolled his eyes as he smiled slightly, the smile slipping from his face once the door was shut. His father sat down next to him, crossing his legs and crossing his arms, looking at him expectantly.

“So,” He began with a sigh that was different than his usual annoyance with Tony, “I've been told that you have something you need to talk about. So let's talk.”

Tony stared back at his father, shocked at the words. It took him a moment to believe it but after he'd gotten over the statement and realized that his father was being entirely serious he nodded his head and began a conversation he never thought he'd have with this man.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there we are, the end.
> 
> I really appreciate those of you that stuck it out with me and my lazy updating (lucky bastards who are reading this whole thing after it's been written). Thanks to all of you wonderful readers and your great comments :)
> 
> My next story I Can't Decide If I'll Let You Save My Life Or If I'll Drown is already up and ready to read. If you've enjoyed the angst in this fic, all my fics are like this (I really can't write anything but angst).  
> And I've been putting up fanart on my Tumblr if anyone's interested in that or has any requests. 
> 
> Sleeponrooftops and I have set up our Long Distance Dialogue vlogs on youtube. You can see the first video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9RJODAmxLk&list=UUEZrrlBMOI5On3kxPd2nu1A
> 
> I hope to still hear from you guys! Love you all and really appreciate each of you <3


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